Best Laid Plans
by L. Mouse
Summary: After eons of war, Cybertronians are an endangered species. Now, with peace between factions, they must rebuild their numbers and recreate their civilization. What will this mean to two young mechs? Frenzy and Steeljaw have only ever known war, and now they must balance their personal needs with a whole new kind of responsibility to their people. Sequel to An Adjustment of Plans.
1. Chapter 1

The Best Laid Plans

Chapter One

* * *

Author's notes: So this is the sequel to An Adjustment of Plans. I've been toying around with it on my hard drive for awhile, in between working on Reconstruction and the (yes, really) next chapter of Masks. Since I have several chapters of Best Laid Plans done, I thought I'd post 'em as a holiday present for my readers.

This story will contain mpreg, sort've, though I subscribe to the theory that Cybertronians are not actually gendered in the way earth organics are. There are also a few scenes of mildly dubious consent that might be triggering to readers who are sensitive. I promise, I'll avoid the worst of the usual cliches. :-)

* * *

Frenzy balanced on one foot, and absently swept sand out of the joints of his other ankle with his fingers. At this work site, there was sand, sand, and more sand, everywhere. And where there wasn't sand, there was tidal mud: Stinking, noxious, and full of small organic critters.

Mouth twisted down into a frown, he watched as Starscream landed in root mode on the beach, a few hundred yards in the distance. The seeker flicked his wings as he touched down, then pranced proudly towards Perceptor and Grapple. "And what is the progress on my project today?"

One thing could be said for Starscream: He had a voice that could carry over the noise of a battle, or in this case, the roar of rolling surf.

Frenzy mentally sighed (and then was amused when Ratchet mentally sighed back at him; Ratchet was having an equally tough day in the med bay) and headed for the impending clusterfuck at a quick walk.

"... We _can't _..."

"I don't want to hear _can't._" Starscream said, peevishly, cutting off Grapple's explanation of just why they'd run into trouble driving pylons into the sea bed. "I just want to hear you're _done_."

"Well, we're not. They hit bedrock earlier than expected, it's harder than expected, and - what, you expect them to bend the laws of physics?" Frenzy snapped, approaching.

Starscream twisted around and frowned down at him, with his best is-that-a-bug-or-a-symbiont expression.

"What?" Unlike the two Autobots, Frenzy had seen Starscream at his worst. He was neither intimidated nor impressed by _this _facet of Starscream, who was simply in a peevish mood. Starscream's null rays were stone cold. "They're working on it. Adjust your timetables."

Starscream flared his armor, clearly preparing for an epic rant.

"C'mon," Frenzy said, turning his back on the seeker. "I'll show you what we _do _have done. The tidal turbines are almost assembled. Once the pylons are in, it won't take long to put them in place."

"... oh." Starscream deflated visibly, with a rattle of settling armor.

"And the crews have been working hard on the energon conversion plant, too. It's exactly to your specs. Your design was perfect." Chattering happily (while still mentally grumbling) Frenzy led Starscream away from the Autobots.

Starscream wrangling: One of his very unofficial, but according to Prime, most important, duties. He was _so _honored.

~_Frenzy, presence required at the Ark.~_

Soundwave's words were formal, but his tone fond. ~_What's up, boss?~_

_~Explanation, in person. You have done nothing wrong, however.~_

_~Ah - I'm babysitting a seeker. Can it wait?~_

There was a brief silence from Soundwave, and then Starscream looked up and snapped, "_Drat _it. There's a problem in my lab. Slagging idiots ... just when this tour was actually getting somewhere, too."

~_What did you do?~ _Frenzy asked, awed.

~_Not him.~ _Ratchet sounded inordinately proud. ~_Your boss doesn't have a devious strut in his frame. Me, now, I get things done the easy way.~_

Starscream vanished into the sky, cursing about plumbing leaks as he went.

~_Let's just say Glit owed me one, and he can be as sneaky as Steeljaw when he needs to be.~_

Frenzy snorted a laugh, and Soundwave clearly shared his amusement by the feelings radiating from Soundwave's spark. ~_Okay, bosses, I'll be there in a bit.~_

* * *

Frenzy could have flown - his foot thrusters were fully operational - but they used a hefty amount of energon. There was no longer a critical shortage of the fuel, but it was still scarce. With resignation, Frenzy approached Hot Rod. Roddy was goofing off, as usual. The big mech had obtained a mech sized fishing rod and was casting a giant silver lure into the surf.

Hot Rod could get him back to the Ark in a few hours, though it would cut into his fishing time.

"Any luck?" Frenzy said.

"Nah. Was hoping for grouper - the Witwickys like it." Hot Rod subspaced the rod and reel. "Whassup, little boss?"

"Need a lift back to the Ark."

"Awesome." Hot Rod cheerfully transformed right on the beach, with little regard for the amount of sand that would end up in his wheel wells. "I am _so _ready to blow out of here."

Frenzy took a moment to wipe the grit his feet with a rag before climbing into Hot Rod's driver's seat. Soundwave would have had his plating if he'd tracked dirt into another mech's cabin, even if said mech wasn't actually likely to mind. While Hot Rod had a particularly flashy paint job he was, surprisingly, not particularly vain and he didn't seem to mind Earth's ever presence _earthiness_.

"Buckle up, m'mech." Hot Rod said, a warning that Frenzy didn't need. He was already fastening the three-point harness around his frame.

The nice thing about being assigned Hot Rod as his assistant was that they got places almost as fast by ground as Frenzy could _fly_. He whooped with glee as the Autobot's acceleration left a rooster-tail of sand in their wake.

* * *

A few hours (and, alas, one speeding ticket from and two autographs to the same cop) later, they pulled up to the Ark just as the sun was setting. Hot Rod playfully transformed with Frenzy still on board, disgorging him at the last second and while a good ten feet in the air. Frenzy, who never lacked for fast reflexes, landed on his feet and then thumped Hot Rod in the knee with a pile driver before Hot Rod could jump out of the way.

"Owe!"

"Jerk." Frenzy grumped at Hot Rod.

Unrepentant, Hot Rod asked, "Am I dismissed? Because they're gonna be showing Tom and Jerry cartoons in the rec and there's a huge party planned ..."

"Go." Frenzy waved him off.

After Hot Rod had bounced off - the mech had more energy than a glitchmouse - Frenzy shook his head. He also heard the footsteps of a quadruped frame behind him, and lifted one arm in absent invitation. Steeljaw slid under his arm, resting his shoulder comfortably against Frenzy's torso. Frenzy rubbed Steeljaw's ears, a liberty that the cybercat tolerated from only a handful of mecha. That Frenzy's touch was distinctly sensual and not "pat the mechanimal kitty" in nature was definitely one reason why Steeljaw allowed it from him.

Primus, he'd missed Steeljaw. It had been almost a month since they'd been in the same room for anything other than work.

"Any idea what they want us for?" the cybercat asked.

"You got summoned too?"

"Yeah. C'mon, Ratch' said to meet him in Prime's quarters as soon as you were here." Steeljaw leaned into Frenzy's frame for a moment longer, luxuriating in the contact. They had so little time together. The business of peace was far more time consuming than the business of war.

Frenzy finally, reluctantly, broke off the embrace. They walked side by side through the Ark's corridor. Steeljaw was greeted by every mech they passed; Frenzy was unsurprised when many mecha still looked at him with wary suspicion. Two years of peace, and they still expected him to turn traitor.

"Frenzy! Steeljaw!" Skyfire's greeting included them both, and was cheerfully friendly. The enormous shuttle stopped and dropped to one knee to greet them. "Will you be present on base for long?"

"Dunno." Frenzy shrugged. "Not sure why we got recalled, honestly."

"Well, if you've got time, come see me." This was directed at Frenzy.

"Need small hands?" Frenzy's tone was teasing.

"Exactly." The shuttle nodded firmly. "I need someone to help me with constructing a sparkling frame. Eject has been helping me ..."

"... but Eject is Eject," Steeljaw rolled his optics knowingly.

"And it's a tiny frame." The shuttle held his thumb and forefinger apart, indicating a sparkling frame just larger than two of Frenzy's fists.

"So we have enough cybertronium now?"

"Yep." Skyfire said, cheerfully. "I'm looking forward to having some kids around here."

Steeljaw snorted. "We'll get you some tweezers to pick them up with."

The shuttle laughed, unoffended. "Or at least a pair of waldos. It will be awhile before we can support the growth of full-sized mecha, but symbionts are every bit as much Cybertronian as shuttles are. I will enjoy the children regardless of size. For some, I will simply have to be more careful about where I step."

"Very, very, _very _true," Frenzy said, with a sudden and very real shudder of startled horror. Skyfire's words had unwittingly reminded him of past nightmares. "Don't worry. I highly doubt anyone will allow sparklings of any size to run loose on the base until they're old enough to keep an eye on what - and who - is above them."

"I would never actually step on a sparkling, Frenzy," Skyfire said, teasing tone morphing into his own form of dismay. "_Never_."

"Yeah. Well, that's how I lost my sire. Someone didn't look where they were stepping." Frenzy folded his arms across his chest, and looked sharply away from the shuttle. "My progenitor followed him shortly after. They were bonded."

"... I'm sorry."

"Left me 'n my brother alone." Frenzy ground out. "So please. _Don't _joke about stepping on symbionts. It's really not funny."

"I'm sorry, Frenzy. I really am." Skyfire crouched, though this still meant he towered over their heads. "I didn't mean to ... bring up bad memories."

"Kinda hard to talk to me and not." Frenzy's tone turned bitter, and tired. "Sorry, Skyfire. It's nothin' you did. It's just me. Sometimes, I forget not everyone's been cursed by Primus at every turn."

"I ..." Skyfire sighed, and reached out, and cupped one large hand around Frenzy's shoulders. "Believe it or not, I understand. And if you're going to be around base for any time, I really could use your help on the sparkling protoform - and I'd like to consider you a friend. Silverbolt, Thundercracker, and I are going to go for a long flight next week, just for fun. The Witwickys are going. Would you and Steeljaw like to come too?"

Steeljaw pointedly nudged Frenzy with his nose.

"I ... yeah, that sounds fun. If they don't send us back out into the field right away." Frenzy felt like a complete aft for his reaction to Skyfire's comment. Both Steeljaw and Skyfire had to think he was an oversensitive idiot, at best. They were just being nice to him, he knew it, but ... well, he _wanted _to believe that Skyfire really wanted to spend time with him and wasn't just asking out of guilt.

Skyfire's expressive face lit up in a grin. "Then the whims of the commanders allowing, I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

A few minutes later, they entered Optimus's quarters. Prime was well-known for having an open-door policy not just in his office, but in his personal quarters as well. While not exactly prone to partying, he was a very social mech, and he had several of his closest friends and advisors with him when he was off duty at almost all times save actual recharge.

He _didn't _take lovers. He could have, easily, but he didn't. Ever.

Frenzy was unsurprised to find that Prime's living area was already full: Ratchet, Soundwave, Prowl, Jazz, First Aid, Killaglitch (who was still courting Soundwave, and why Killa and Soundwave hadn't made it final, Frenzy just didn't understand!), Killa's mate and Ratchet's medical assistant Glit, and Rung. Blaster was also there, though none of Steeljaw's symbiotic siblings seemed to be present.

Steeljaw eyed the crowd with his head tilted to one side, then said, quietly, "This isn't about a mission, is it?"

Huh? Frenzy wasn't sure what Steelie was referring to.

"Welcome, both of you." Prime rose from his chair. (Frenzy noted, as usual, that when Prime stood up about half the room to also rose in reaction; there was a clear demarcation between the mecha who saw him as Optimus _Prime_, and those who saw him as Optimus-who-happened-to-be-Prime. Jazz remained seated; Prowl stood. Ratchet didn't even shift in his chair. Killaglitch and Blaster bounced up like they had springs in their struts. Rung never moved from his seat, and sipped his energon. Soundwave also remained seated; he viewed Prime as his boss and master, but not as a holy supreme pooh-bah of a leader.)

"Uh, thanks." Frenzy allowed Soundwave to lift him up so he could sit on the edge of the only remaining empty chair in the room. Steeljaw hopped up behind him with easy grace, and lay down behind Frenzy, so that Frenzy could use his metallic mane as a back rest.

"Energon?" Prime asked, gesturing at a table that had several options - energon jellies, high grade, and the bright and clean mid grade energon that Starscream's solar plants had recently begun producing.

"Jellies." Steeljaw said. He was no animal, and those who knew him well never doubted his sentience, but he was sensitive about appearances. He didn't like drinking out of a bowl like a dog or having his ears scratched, and Frenzy had very rarely seen him use his teeth and claws in combat if he could fire a weapon instead. (Though Frenzy also had some protoform deep scars from one encounter with Steeljaw, long before they'd become lovers.)

"High grade," Frenzy said, suspecting he'd need it. Soundwave had his emotions closely guarded behind a firm block. Ratchet felt wary and nervous.

Optimus, ever the gracious host, served Steeljaw a generous plate of mid-grade jellies (the best kind, from Skyfire's lab, sweet with carbon and dusted with oxidized iron) and Frenzy a symbiont-sized cube of Sideswipe's best high grade. Frenzy stole one of Steeljaw's jellies, then offered him a sip from the cube of high grade. After a glance at the room, Steeljaw allowed Frenzy to hold the cube up to his mouth so he wouldn't have to lap at it.

"So." Steeljaw said, after savoring the high grade, "I can't imagine you're all here for social reasons."

"Ah dunno, any excuse for a party ..." Jazz drawled.

"No." Prime said, quietly. "This is not strictly a social event."

Steeljaw sighed. "Out with it, boss."

Prime seemed uncomfortable, perhaps even acutely so.

Ratchet harrumphed. "I'll say it. Steeljaw, Frenzy, you two have been in a serious relationship for over two years. You have compatible CNA - indeed, unusually compatible ..."

"What Ratchet means," Rung said quietly, "is that our population numbers are so very low that we are at risk of oblivion as a race. Normally, we would not consider asking this of any mecha, but we _must _begin reproducing again."

Steeljaw made a small noise, not quite a sigh.

"Some frame types are nearly extinct, as it is - including aerial symbionts. Frenzy, are you aware that you are of very mixed ancestry?"

He blinked. "Don't know nothing about my past. My folks died when Rumble'n I were pretty tiny."

"According to an analysis of your CNA, you carry the markers for both aerial _and _cybercat ancestry, Frenzy."

"Uh ... I do?"

"There are two aerials left alive, and seven cybercats." Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose. Frenzy wasn't bothering to hide his discomfort with this discussion, and Frenzy's reaction was clearly making Ratchet a bit cranky. "Both are recessive traits. Bluntly, if you reproduce with Steeljaw, you have a fifty/fifty chance of having cybercat offspring - and those sparklings will also have a 50% chance of carrying the marker for aerials. You are _also _not pure symbiont; we believe you have a carrier in your ancestry. So does Steeljaw. In theory, you could produce a carrier sparkling, as well. We _need _more carriers."

It wasn't unheard of for carriers to reproduce with symbionts, nor even particularly scandalous. Still, Frenzy felt Steeljaw's reaction of shock in the flare of his EM field against Frenzy's back.

"You want me to ... breed." Frenzy folded his arms across his chest, suddenly feeling very small.

Optimus crouched before Frenzy, bringing himself closer to the eye level of both symbionts. "We are asking you to consider it. We are not ordering you, or even pressuring you. It is your choice. But - this is something very important that you can do to help your people."

Steeljaw coughed. "If we sire a carrier, do we have enough Cybertronian to support healthy growth of the kid?"

Leave it to Steeljaw to go right to the practical, Frenzy thought with real irritation.

"We do now." Optimus exchanged a glance with Ratchet. "When we analyzed your CNA and determined that was a possibility, we made sure to acquire an extra supply."

"So this is something you've been planning for awhile." Frenzy wrapped his arms around his chest. "I don't know ... I've never even been _around _sparklings."

"You won't be alone." Killaglitch said, gently. "We'll all help. I _have _raised sparklings, Frenzy. Soundwave is clan born and helped with the children when he was an older youngling. Ratch' has fostered sparklings and reformats."

Steeljaw offered, "My first master ... he had a sparkling. And one of my sibs did, too. And, well, there's Eject ..." That last comment provoked a snort of laughter from Blaster.

Steeljaw leaned into Frenzy's back. "We can talk about this in private, Frenzy."

Optimus said, somewhat earnestly, "You will both be supported should you chose this. We will _help _you."

"I haven't even _seen _Steeljaw in over a month for long enough to have some private time with him." Frenzy's mouth turned down into a taut frown. "How can we even contemplate a sparkling when we're usually half a world apart, working on various projects?"

"That will change." Optimus ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. I know we have been working both of you very hard, and we are grateful for all the work you have both done. However, we are making an effort to allow and encourage _all _couples to spend more time together. Prowl has already adjusted your schedules. There is no obligation, no ... pressure ... involved in this change."

No pressure. Right. Frenzy was skeptical. They wanted him to be a _breeder_.

"I assume I would carry," Steeljaw said, smoothly.

"I ... uh." Frenzy twisted around to look at his partner.

"I have the larger frame." Steeljaw said, casually. "And cybercats have a propensity for carrying multiples."

"Oh, great. _Twins_."

Steeljaw coughed. "Or more."

"Also - Frenzy, you have been rebuilt several times." Ratchet ran a hand over his optics. "Steeljaw would be the preferred carrier, both due to frame size and due to the fact that I've _seen _your insides. Your welds have welds, and only some of them are ones I've made. I _think _you could carry safely, but I _know _Steeljaw can. Steelie's had some issues with starvation in his past, and it has definitely affected his fuel system and some of his struts, but overall, he's in better physical shape than you."

"Oh." He felt vague relief at the thought that he wouldn't be the one carrying, and then wild anxiety at the thought of the risk to Steeljaw. And he didn't know if he was ready to be a sire. He didn't know _how _to be a sire. And everyone would tell him what to do, everyone would have their own opinion on how to be a parent, and he was no expert. How was he to know what was good advice, or bad, and they might think him a fool if he screwed up.

He'd also have so very much responsibility for Steeljaw, and for the sparklings. He hadn't been tied to anyone like that since his brother died.

"In either case, the child, or children, would still be yours - _both _of yours." Optimus said this earnestly. "We will help, but he, or she, or they, will be _yours_."

Rung said, "Consider how it would feel to raise offspring, Frenzy. You would be a _sire_. I know you like children; I have seen you with them. You would have a child who was yours, to raise and shape and love. You would form a family with Steeljaw and the child - and the bond between child and parents is generally lifelong. It could be a very happy and fulfilling life. Enriching."

"No pressure, you said," Frenzy said, a bit tartly. He drained the cube of high grade with sudden, reckless, abandon. "I haven't even _merged _with Steeljaw."

"Ah." Rung said. "Because you are apart so much?"

Steeljaw nuzzled Frenzy's shoulder briefly, comfortingly. "Rung, guys, it's complicated and we're in no hurry for that step. Don't - don't push him. Please. I appreciate you bringing the subject up, because we really should discuss it, but - please. You've said enough."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Aft A'gley

* * *

Steeljaw had not been surprised by the discussion with the others. The commanders had made no secret at all of their plans to encourage reproduction, starting with those with the smallest frames due to limited resources. He had known about his own CNA traits since early childhood; unlike Frenzy, he had grown up in a large, emotionally healthy, family.

He had both known the relatives who had left their mark in his CNA, and had been educated early on about the results of his genetic testing. Frenzy's ancestry had been a bit of a surprise, but he wasn't shocked. Frenzy was city born, and city born symbionts tended to have more diverse family trees than clan born mecha.

From a purely pragmatic standpoint, he understood _exactly _why they would be encouraged to reproduce. He even agreed. _And _he wanted children. He didn't particularly care what frame type they ended up with.

Frenzy was walking in silence beside him, hunched up, arms around his chest.

"Want to go back to my quarters?" Steeljaw asked. He'd recently been given a small room of his own, likely out of tacit acknowledgement of his relationship with Frenzy.

"I ..." Frenzy gave him a wide-eyed stare. "Yeah, I guess."

Steeljaw stopped short. "Frenzy, we're not going to commit to _anything _today. I just want to get your thoughts. In private."

"Oh." Frenzy relaxed marginally.

"Besides, I'm still plugged. We couldn't make sparklings right now even if we wanted to." Steeljaw bumped him with his shoulder.

"Oh. Yeah."

Once they were alone in his quarters, Steeljaw waited for the door to slide shut and then pressed his head and shoulders to Frenzy's chest. Frenzy wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug, wordlessly seeking comfort.

"I've missed you," Steeljaw said, quietly.

"Yeah." Frenzy nodded. "Steelie ..."

Frenzy trailed off, thoughts unspoken.

"Lover, do you _want _sparklings?"

"I don't know." Frenzy's jaw tensed, and he didn't say anything else.

"I do." Steeljaw said, quietly. "But you know that. I like kids. I always figured I'd be a parent someday."

"Yeah, I know. You'd be a good one, too."

"Soundwave _loves _sparklings," Steeljaw added. "And so does Blaster. And my siblings. You won't be alone. Pit, I bet _Prime _would babysit for us. He'd need tweezers just like Skyfire, but I'd trust him to do it!"

"And I won't have _control_." Frenzy bit out. "If I have kids, I want them to be _mine_. _Ours_."

Steeljaw leaned back and looked up at Frenzy's taut features. "Is that what's bugging you?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I just ... I'm not comfortable with this."

"I know that." Steeljaw sighed.

"You won't leave me, will you?" Frenzy blurted out, optics widening.

"No. _Never_." Steeljaw pressed his frame into Frenzy's arms. Frenzy clutched at him convulsively. "I _love _you, Frenzy."

"But you want children, too ..." Frenzy was clearly upset, plating clamped flat and optics screwed shut.

"Not as much as I want you."

"We _should _reproduce, though. They said so. They were _right_."

"Yes, they most likely are." Steeljaw nuzzled Frenzy's shoulder. "But it's not something you have to do right away. There are couples among the immigrant neutrals who are eager to reproduce. Command brought this opportunity to us first because they trust us to be good parents, and because our CNA has traits that are rare and need to be preserved. However, if we say no, there _are _others who can and will reproduce."

"Oh."

"Rewind's even talked about it."

"Rewind doesn't have a partner!"

"Nope. A partner isn't required to raise a child, one just requires a lover to create one." Steeljaw chuckled. "His suggestion was that he reproduce with a full size flier mech, too - mechling CNA is dominant above almost all others, so the child would stay small, but it would introduce an element of potential diversity into their descendents."

Frenzy pulled away from Steeljaw, arms wrapping around his chest. For his height and frame type, he was powerfully built, but he looked small and fragile in this instant. "Would ... would you raise a child by yourself, if I didn't want one?"

Steeljaw was silent for a long, long, moment. "Tell me what you're thinking, Frenzy."

"That I'm _not ready _for kids, and you are."

Steeljaw felt the energon run cold in his veins. "Frenzy, no, _no_. You're thinking I'd be better off without you, so I could reproduce without feeling I'd pressured you into something you didn't want. _No_."

"Huh. And _Soundwave _is supposed to be the psychic one."

"I'm not psychic, I just know you." Steeljaw shoved his way under Frenzy's arm and up against his side. "And I won't let you leave me for _that _reason."

"It's unfair to you." Frenzy clearly wasn't happy. In fact, he sounded about as miserable as Steeljaw had ever heard him.

"Nah." Steeljaw leaned into Frenzy's side, the closest he could come to a hug without rising up on his back legs. "We live very long lives, Frenzy. There's no hurry, and no need for either of us to make a decision now. And, like I said, others will gladly take our place if we decide to wait - or never reproduce at all."

Frenzy was silent for a long, long, moment. Then he finally said, "I loved Laserbeak and Buzzsaw. _Primus_, I miss them. And there's only two of their kind left. If I carry the genetics ... the CNA to create more fliers ... I really should. I just ... it's a lot to take in, Steelie. We haven't even _merged _and we're talking about offspring."

Steeljaw twisted around a bit, so he could press his head against Frenzy's chest. He could hear the steady thrum of Frenzy's small power plant, and the higher pitched hum of his spark. "I am ready to merge when you are."

"No!" Frenzy pushed him away. Steeljaw staggered two strides back, startled by the real fear and vehement denial.

"Frenzy," Steeljaw gave him a wide-eyed, confused look. "I don't understand."

Frenzy just _stared _at him for a long, silent, tense, moment. "I've said no _how _many times?"

"I said when you are _ready_." Steeljaw emphasized. "I'm not pressing you. I'm just leaving the option open. I love you, Frenzy. I _accept _you. I know you've been through the Pit and back, and you're not ready to share that with me. I know you're probably scared of what you'll see in my spark. I _admit _there are things about you that bother me, but nobody's perfect, and you've been in so many bonds in your life that I expect you'll be able to accept that aspect of _my _spark. All that - and I will _wait _for you, however long it takes."

Frenzy picked one statement out of Steeljaw's impassioned words and bit out, "What _bothers _you about me?"

Steeljaw grinned. "You're messy. You're defensive when you don't need to be. You can be pit-slagging needy. You have a tendency to butt in where you don't belong, and act on impulse. You can be slagging manipulative. You overlook obvious social cues. Sometimes, you think the worst of people when they don't deserve it. But nobody's perfect and I _accept _you, flaws and all. I love you, Sweetspark ..."

"Oh, _don't _call me that," Frenzy folded his arms across his chest.

"You're funny. You're brave. You're incredibly loyal to those you consider friends. You accept me as I am. You don't see me as anything but another mech, despite my frame type. You're slagging good in the berth - only mech I've ever enjoyed being spiked by. You're _smart_, and we work well together. You're very forgiving. You are so very strong, to have lived through everything you have and come out sane on the other side. You've never showed any signs of being jealous of my friendship with other mechs, or the time I spend with them. You're _patient_. You work hard, you have integrity, and you don't shirk unpleasant duties. You tolerate my quirks. You are a ferocious fighter, even when badly injured. You just don't quit ..."

"Stop." Frenzy held a hand up. "Steeljaw, enough. I get it. I just ... I'm just _not _ready for the kind of merge you want."

"I know." Steeljaw buried his face in Frenzy's chest, and arched his neck in invitation for Frenzy to rub between the armor plates.

Frenzy ignored, or missed, the silent request to cuddle.

Steeljaw said pointedly, "One of _my _issues is a pretty bad fear of rejection. I know it, I've worked on it for a long time, but it's still there. Always will be, probably."

_Now _Frenzy hugged him, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Sorry, Steelie. I just wasn't expecting them to bring this up to us. It kinda shook me up."

"Yeah, got that." Steeljaw relaxed into Frenzy's embrace for a moment. "So ... you know they're showing Tom and Jerry cartoons in the rec tonight, and having some sort of party. Wanna go watch? Sideswipe said something about a drinking game and I saw Jazz headed that way with some cubes of high grade ..."

"Yeah, yeah, sounds good." Frenzy straightened up, and then ran a hand along the side of Steeljaw's head with a lover's touch. "I'm sorry, Steelie. Give me some time. I'm not saying no."

"You're just scared. I _know_. And I'll wait however long you want me to wait. You're worth it."

* * *

The raucous sounds of a good party echoed through the Ark's corridors. Skyfire frowned, hearing Ratchet's laughter amid the noise. Soundwave, across the table of tiny parts from him, looked up.

"Ratchet: Very intoxicated."

"Yeah, even I can tell even from here." If it was possible for a _laugh _to be slurred, it was.

"Off duty. Enjoying himself." Soundwave's words were akin to a mental shrug. "Frenzy, also very drunk."

"You, ah, want to go join them?" Skyfire asked this doubtfully, but it seemed polite to ask. Soundwave had shown up at his lab and offered to help with the protoform design project. Skyfire, never one to turn down free skilled labor, had promptly handed him a box of parts that needed assembling. However, most of the rest of the Ark was partying hard.

"Negative." Soundwave said, with firm distaste. With remarkable precision for a mech as large as he was, he inserted a bolt through a hole barely 1/4 inch in width and attached a nut to the end.

Skyfire chuckled. "They do seem to be having fun, but not your style, eh?"

"Affirmative." Soundwave meticulously tightened a tension wire only a few millimeters in diameter before adding, "You, neither?"

"Nah. I'm not much for drinking." Skyfire shook his head slowly. "Aside from the fact that I'd have to drink _all _their high grade to have any significant, ah, recreational affect."

Soundwave, to his surprise, chuckled. He'd not heard the big, somber, mech laugh often. "My problem is the opposite, in truth. For my size, my power plant is small. Therefore, I do not efficiently process the excess energy from high grade."

"Ah."

"It is good to see them drinking simply because they are happy, however."

"Yeah, Ratchet does tend to hit the cubes when he's upset. Not that he's the only mech who does ..."

"Ratchet, has ceased this." Soundwave smiled again, briefly. After they had bonded, Ratchet had become painfully aware of Soundwave's silent disapproval of his long-standing coping strategies when he was upset. Soundwave had not deemed it an issue worth fighting over and had never actually brought it up, but Ratchet had not only stopped drowning his nightmares with high grade but he was quietly seeing Rung.

The party tonight was the first time Soundwave had seen Ratchet drink to the point of intoxication in almost a year. He detected nothing but good-humored enjoyment of rowdy drinking games coming from his partner, so he wasn't the slightest bit worried. Ratchet was having fun, along with about ninety percent of the Ark's crew. Soundwave personally failed to see the entertainment value in inebriation, but if it amused his bondmates, he didn't mind if they engaged in the behavior.

"_Really_."

"Affirmative."

Skyfire chuckled. "You, my mech, are a terribly good influence on the doctor."

"Some would disagree. Soundwave, after all, Decepticon."

Skyfire threw his head back and laughed. Soundwave hadn't worn the Decepticon sigil in over a year, and the badge now painted on his praxillite crystal docking bay door was a caduceus. The human symbol had far more meaning than just medical implications, most of which were applicable to Soundwave's role as mediator between factions. That he often helped in the med bay or engineering only made it more appropriate.

Soundwave, pleased that Skyfire had heard the humor in his words, flashed the tall shuttle a real, genuine, smile. He hadn't worn his blast mask or visor for nearly as long as he'd been a neutral. His face, which was surprisingly young for his age, ruggedly handsome, and unscarred by the war, had been a bit of a surprise for the Autobots. Soundwave could still put on a poker face with the best of them, and his default expression was more neutral than Prowl's, but when he genuinely smiled he was surprised by the number of mechs who smiled right back. He had found himself smiling more and more often as they transitioned into peace.

Nobody _ever _accused him of being a drone now.

Skyfire grinned back.

"_There _you are," Prime's sonorous voice made both of them jump a little. Optimus stood in the engineering bay's doorway, arms folded across his chest.

"Sir?" Skyfire rose.

"Prime?" Soundwave followed a beat later.

"Is there an issue?" Skyfire asked.

Prime's grin was at least as wide as Skyfire's had been. "No _issue_, but you are missing the party."

"Party, not missed," Soundwave replied.

"So you say." Optimus was _drunk_, Soundwave realized. "You're off duty, both of you. Come, you are missing out."

"Ah ..." Skyfire clearly wanted to protest.

"My friends, I would appreciate your company," Optimus said, voice earnest.

Skyfire nodded, likely because there was no polite way to refuse such a request and also because he genuinely liked Prime. Soundwave, who just wasn't wired to argue over such a minor matter, was already headed for the door. If Optimus wished him to attend the party, he would do so. He'd long ago mastered the art of blending in with the wall - or possibly the sound system - at such events.

* * *

One corner of the rec room was devoted to a noisy drinking game involving chugging quantities of high grade in response to the antics of an animated cat and mouse. Soundwave resolved to avoid that part of the room entirely; Frenzy, on the other hand, was an enthusiastic (and loud) participant.

Jazz, more than a little drunk, was in another corner, demonstrating martial arts moves with a significantly more sober Drift to an appreciative audience that included Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, a dozen more Ark mecha and a good half dozen Decepticons who included a still-dented Wildrider. Soundwave hoped that drunken lessons would _not _lead to sober lessons with the latter; the last thing they needed was that overclocked sparkling learning better combat skills.

Several mecha were involved in a card game involving randomly changing rules based on instructions on the drawn cards. They were nearly as intoxicated as the group watching the cartoons.

Starscream was holding court in another corner, and was flirting shamelessly with any and all who came near. Soundwave, after surveying the room for other threats, wandered over to Starscream's corner. Nobody sober was keeping an eye on him, and Soundwave was painfully aware of how quickly Starscream could turn a fun gathering into a disaster. Also, Wheeljack was over there, and that was an explosive combination if Soundwave had ever seen one.

"_Soundwave_," Starscream purred.

"Hi Soundwave!" Wheeljack bounced on his toes, ear fins flashing merrily. "We were just talking about you."

"Reason for discussion?" He asked, internally wary, but schooling his features to mere polite inquiry. The Autobots reacted much better to him when he didn't wear his mask and visor, but at times like these he did miss them.

Laughter came from the others, though he didn't understand what he'd said that was so humorous. He studied them with what he hoped was an inscrutable expression. Perceptor was beaming and probably quite drunk, Grapple was only a little more sober, Hook was _completely _sober but still grinning, Inferno was laughing like a loon and therefore probably close to shutdown from over-energization, and the cybercat medic Glit - seated on a table - had a rather feral and fangy smile. He couldn't tell if Glit was intoxicated or not.

Starscream, reeking of high grade fumes, lifted his cube up in a salute to Soundwave. "My _favorite _bureaucrat. How _surprising _it is to see you here."

"Soundwave, specifically invited by Optimus Prime." He wasn't above name-dropping if it reminded the seeker that Soundwave was not without influence and, more importantly, friends.

Starscream's mouth twisted down into a small frown. Soundwave assumed Starscream had _not _been invited by Prime. However, the seeker snapped, "The whole damn base was invited. You think you're so special that you don't even bother to attend unless Prime _himself _goes and tracks you down. You were the same way on the Nemesis - you thought yourself too good to spend time with the rest of us."

Soundwave mentally sighed. Across the room, Ratchet looked up from the card game. "Subject of your discussion: My social preferences?"

"No, no, no!" Wheeljack flailed his hands around in a drunken panic. "You've got it wrong! We were just worrying that you were workin' too hard and were too shy to come down and have some fun!"

"Yes," Perceptor agreed, bobbing his head in a quick nod. "We were afraid you did not feel as if you belonged with us. Soundwave, you're one of our, ah, peers. You should feel free to come to gatherings such as this."

"Prime overheard us talking about you and Skyfire, and went to go get you." Wheeljack sounded proud of this. "You both need to spend more time with the crew. You're _welcome _here."

Starscream, arms folded, said, "I rather think my assess-assesserm-ment is closer to the truth. He's not shy, he just doesn't like the fat lot of you lot very much."

Soundwave noted absently that despite his degree of intoxication, Wheeljack's enunciation was much better than Starscream's. Starscream had never been able to handle his high grade very well, and the first thing that seemed to be affected was his speech. Curious, he glanced over at Wheeljack to see if Starscream's comment would provoke an interesting reaction from Wheeljack.

"You're all idi-diots." Ratchet joined them. He rested a hand on Soundwave's back. "M'lover here's too polite to say it, but ya all know me. Idits, all over the place. Soundwave likes most of you just fine. I'm his bonded, and believe me, I know it when he doesn't like someone even if I'm a planet half away. He's not the drone you idits think he is!"

"Do enlight-enlight ... tell us what he really thinks," Starscream stumbled over his words.

Soundwave rested a hand calmly on Ratchet's shoulders. This exchange was truly fascinating. He should have come to the party earlier.

"He l-likes you guys, err, most of ya. Starscream, he doesn't hate ya, but you piss him off a lot." Ratchet grinned. "That's almost something to be proud of, because he's hard to annoy. Nah. Soundwave just doesn't like parties much - too loud, too chaotic, and he doesn't like t' drink because he gets drunk really fast and he doesn't like the loss of control. Though you guys really have his interest now. He's enjoying this."

"Ah ..." Wheeljack grinned. "Enjoying this, are you?"

Soundwave let a small smile touch his lips. "Group dynamics, currently fascinating."

That comment prompted a real laugh from most of the mecha, though Starscream scowled fiercely.

Ratchet patted Soundwave's back, a bit roughly due to his overcharged motor controls. "Soundwave doesn't worry much about what other people think, unless it directly affects his duties or his relationship with his superiors. He likes you lot, though."

Frenzy's voice piped up from Ratchet's knee level. "Yeah. He's not rejecting you all. He just doesn't like _parties_. Most of the time, anyway. And he's _Soundwave_. The mech doesn't quite always process like the rest of the world, but he's a good mech an' I wouldn't have bonded to an aft. You guys know me better than that by now!"

He recognized that his bonded lover and bonded symbiont were figuratively closing ranks around him. The gesture was appreciated, but most likely unnecessary. The impression he was getting from his currently-mostly-tuned-down empathic talents indicated that all but Starscream were accepting of him and his quirks, and a few - Perceptor, Wheeljack - had been genuinely amused by his comment about the group dynamics being fascinating. He suspected that was because Perceptor found anything that implied scientific study to be interesting, and because Wheeljack was socially astute enough to _agree _with him. Starscream, being Starscream, was just as scheming, narcissistic, and unpleasant as ever, but Soundwave had learned long ago to filter Starscream's lower-level antagonism out.

"Easy, mechs," Jazz bounced over, concern radiating from his frame and spark both. "Be nice to the nice carrier. You don't want to face the wrath of his bondmates, hmm?"

"Guh!" Wheeljack made a warding sign of a cross with two fingers, aimed at both Ratchet and Frenzy. Soundwave was deeply amused by the juxtaposition of the superstitious human hand gesture coupled with his next words, "Primus forbid!"

"Soundwave, able to fend for himself." Soundwave said, allowing a smile to touch his lips. Jazz, seeing it, flashed him a blinding grin that was matched by real affection.

He thanked Primus that the Autobots had seen fit to restore his telepathic mods when they had repaired his damage a year ago. They made understanding the true intentions of a mech so very much easier, even when he was only passively scanning with them. He had been surprised by just how much the Autobots had trusted and liked him, and how very nice many of them were. It had been a refreshing break from eons among the Decepticons. His job duties took him among mecha from both factions, but he craved the approval, friendship, and trust he found among the Autobots and was always eager to return to their side. He basked in it, to tell the truth.

Starscream rolled his optics. "Now that's the truth. I could tell stories ..."

Knowing Starscream, they would likely be embarrassing stories, at least for Soundwave, though they would probably put the seeker in a good light. Also, Starscream was very likely to bring up his deceased symbionts. His amusement abruptly vanished, and mentally, he cringed.

Frenzy tensed, fists balling. Ratchet's mouth turned down into a sharp scowl.

"Starscream," Optimus said as he crossed the suddenly quieter room. Now they had _Optimus _involved. "We need a judge for the energon candies. Would you be so kind as to help us out?"

Soundwave was reasonably sure that there had not been a contest for the best energon candy moments before, as Optimus's spark held a rare flash of deceit. However, Starscream preened. "I'm _needed, _m'mech's. Tah!"

Optimus swept him away, rescuing the entire group from Starscream's malice.

Glit flicked his tail in irritation. "I swear, there are times I'd like to rip his vocalizer out and _feed _it to him."

"Starscream, not evil," Soundwave said, because part of his job was mediating disputes between factions, and because it was actually true.

"Nah. He's just a fragger." Jazz chuckled. "So, Sounders, how good are you at Flux?"

"I dunno if that's a good idea, Jazz," Frenzy said, a bit dubiously. "I think he's reached his allotment for fried neural circuits for a lifetime."

_CLANG_

Ratchet cuffed Frenzy upside the head. "Not funny, runt."

"What, hitting me?" Frenzy objected. "Not funny at _all_."

"_Enough_," Soundwave intoned, causing both his bondmates to look up at him. He didn't like it when they argued, and Ratchet had been genuinely distressed by the reminder of Soundwave's near-death neural circuit failures. "Flux rules ... intriguingly complicated. Challenge accepted."

Across the room, he felt a flare of real pleasure from Optimus. He looked over. While Starscream had his optics shut and was fluttering his wings in exaggerated delight in response to a candy, Optimus was watching Soundwave. Optimus was happy that _he _was happy. He smiled a small smile and was rewarded by a nod of recognition from the Prime.

In a rare impulsive gesture, he then pinged Skyfire. Skyfire was propping the wall up and trying not to get in the way of the smaller mecha.

_:Yeah?:_

_:Card came commencing. Do you wish to play?:_

Skyfire's blue optics lit up. The tall shuttle headed in their direction. Soundwave leaned over and whispered to Jazz, "Skyfire, should also play. He, also, needs friends."

Jazz flashed Soundwave another one of those room-illuminating smiles and whispered back, "You're a good mech. Don't let anyone ever tell you different."


	3. Chapter 3

Aft A'gley

Chapter 3

* * *

Frenzy walked several paces between Ratchet and Soundwave, giving them space as they proceeded down the hall to their quarters. This was mostly because he didn't want to be smashed flat if Ratchet toppled over. Despite being moderately drunk himself, Frenzy's self-preservation instincts were fully intact. Desire to give the couple privacy was only a distant second consideration.

Soundwave was still more-or-less sober, despite the cheerful attempts by the Autobots to push Sideswipe's best high grade on him. The Autobots would eventually learn that Soundwave was a control freak about his own frame, and didn't particularly like giving up control to anything - even to high grade. He'd sipped one cube for most of the evening, at a slow enough pace that he only had the barest hint of a buzz.

The medic, on the other hand, was stumbling, swaying, and cheerfully, completely, intoxicated. Soundwave was patiently supporting him. Ratchet had the potential to be a maudlin drunk, but judging by the impression he was getting from the bond, right now he was just a horny drunk. Frenzy, amused, watched as the medic tried to grope Soundwave's interface panel. Soundwave deftly deflected Ratchet's hand - he was _not _aroused in the slightest, and had zero exhibitionist tendencies - and pinged the door to their quarters open.

Frenzy was about to follow them in, since he knew that there would be no interfacing between the two tonight. Soundwave wasn't in the mood (intoxication was not a turn-on for the carrier, even in private) and, anyway, Ratchet would probably pass out as soon as his bondmate dumped him on the berth.

"Frenzy! Lover mine _sweetspark darling_!"

Oh, yeah. Somebody _else _had indulged a bit too much. Frenzy turned around in time to see Steeljaw bounding with large, sloppy, strides down the hallway. He braced himself in an unsuccessful attempt to stay on his feet; when Steeljaw pounced on him, they both hit the ground in an ungainly tangle of limbs.

"I wanna go _hiking_ by _moonlight!_"

"I think it's more 'dawn' than 'moonlit'," Frenzy pointed out, and he pushed at Steeljaw's heavy frame. "Uhhgg, Steeljaw, you're heavy!"

Steeljaw paused, likely to check his chronometer. "Oh, slag. You're right!"

"Get off me, you doofus." Frenzy said, more-or-less affectionately.

"Wanna go watch the sunrise, sweetspark?"

"Don't _call _me that." Frenzy wriggled under Steeljaw's uncoordinated weight, trying to get the leverage necessary to shove the cybercat off him. "C'mon, Steelie. _Off_."

"Awwwwww." But Steeljaw did stand up. Then, as Frenzy rose, Steeljaw _licked _him.

"Okay, it's official. You've lost your mind." Frenzy wiped oral lubricant - which smelled strongly of high grade - from his face. Unamused, he added, "Seriously, Steeljaw? Go home and sleep it off."

"But _sunrise_. And you look good enough to eat, lovermine!"

"Steeljaw, _go home_." Frenzy clapped a hand to his face.

"Whyyyyyy? Don't you want my companyyyy?" Steeljaw seemed to be eyeing his face, and Frenzy could hear footsteps coming. The last thing he wanted was for someone to witness Steeljaw licking him again - Steeljaw would be mortified later, assuming he even remembered it. Frenzy was sober enough that he would be mortified immediately, on Steeljaw's behalf as well as his own. Also, _eww_.

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Frenzy could tell from the bond that Ratchet was already in recharge, and Soundwave was showering in the wash rack. Frenzy had his own quarters, constructed in a corner of Ratchet's living room, as Ratchet had felt Frenzy needed more privacy. Or, as he'd put it it after walking in on Frenzy and Steeljaw the first time, some things just could not be unseen and the two of them _really _needed a room of their own!

That privacy meant that he didn't need to worry about Steeljaw bothering the other two. He knew from past experience that Steeljaw, who was normally cheerfully friendly, turned downright giddy and hyperactive when intoxicated.

"C'mon." Frenzy grabbed Steeljaw by a corner of his metallic mane, and towed him inside. As soon as they'd crossed the living room and entered his quarters, Steeljaw's mood went from playful to amorous. With a low groan that was probably supposed to sound seductive, Steeljaw tackled Frenzy onto the berth.

Frenzy _could _have fended the cybercat off, but not without hurting him. They were actually evenly matched when they sparred; Frenzy's natural agility and the raw power in his upper body, and millennia of combat training from Soundwave, was countered by Steeljaw's greater mass and lower center of gravity. However, given their relative levels of intoxication, he could have easily won now.

Frenzy didn't want to hurt Steeljaw, and anyway, he knew what the cybercat wanted and he didn't mind. Drunk fragging wasn't his favorite form of fragging, but on the other hand, there was something to be said for seeing Steeljaw really and truly lose control. Steeljaw loved him, desired him, and he was _strong_.

Steeljaw grinned down at him. "Gotcha sweetspark!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Sweetspark sweetspark sweetspark sweetspark ... oh!" Frenzy shut him up by arching up and licking a transformation seam. Steeljaw responded by nuzzling Frenzy's neck and digging his stubby fingers in the gaps in Frenzy's armor with practiced skill that even extreme intoxication couldn't eliminate. They'd learned each other's frames very, very, well in the last year.

Frenzy, grinning now, found the exact spot inside Steeljaw's forearms that melted him into mush - at least, normally it did. This time, instead of tender affection, Steeljaw groaned and then aggressively pressed Frenzy into the berth with his hands and slid between his legs.

"Wow, you're in a mood." Frenzy scooted to the edge of the berth and spread his legs, willing enough to be thoroughly fragged. Steeljaw, he could tell, was intent on taking him hard and fast. Frenzy's own systems were buzzing in response to the raw, blatant arousal of his partner.

Steeljaw wobbled awkwardly, weight pressing Frenzy down hard. Normally, he was good about not squishing his smaller partner, but tonight he was just too unsteady. "Oops, sorry, sweetspark."

"Don't call me tha ... ahhhhh!" Frenzy's well-practiced protest was interrupted when Steeljaw thrust into his valve with a practiced motion. They'd done this many, many times. Frenzy wrapped his legs around Steeljaw's waist, holding on for the ride.

_Primus _his lover was determined to pound him into the berth. Steeljaw arched his back and thrust hard, jaw gritted and optics blazing with overcharge. "Love you. Love you _so much_. Love you, love you ..."

"Owe!" Frenzy objected, as Steeljaw thrust just a little too hard.

Steeljaw, lost in his own arousal, didn't react. He probably didn't hear.

"Owe!" Frenzy shoved at Steeljaw's chest, trying to get his attention.

Steeljaw, back arched, hands clutching Frenzy's shoulders, thrust with far more power than he ever had before. "Nnhhhhh."

"OWE!" Frenzy transformed a hand into a pile driver, shoved it against Steeljaw's chest, and launched him off the berth and on the floor. "Owe, owe, owe, OWE!"

Steeljaw hit the floor and slid, crashing into the wall. His chest plate was dented in.

"You _fragger_!" Frenzy cursed at him.

Steeljaw blinked at him. Transfluid coated his spike and abdominal plating. He'd overloaded even as Frenzy had beat him off. "Frenzy?"

"SLAG YOU!"

"Oh, slag." Steeljaw suddenly seemed a lot more sober. He'd just burned off a lot of energy - Frenzy, uncharitably, thought _more than usual_ given the effort involved - and he blinked owlishly at his partner. "What did I do?"

Frenzy, curled into a ball in the berth, hands clutched over his interface panel. Energon trickled between his fingers. "You fucking aft, you're bigger than me."

"I'm ... oh, slag, slag, slag, I'm sorry Frenzy, I'm sorry." Steeljaw hopped up onto the birth. "Lemme see, I'm sorry ..."

"I'm never letting you touch me _again_." Frenzy threatened him with a pile-driver equipped hand. The pile driver had energon on it. Steeljaw, wisely, reared back. "You aft. I said _owe_."

"I didn't mean ... I didn't hear ... I was drunk ... Frenzy, I'm _sorry_."

"Frenzy?" Soundwave's voice made Steeljaw cringe.

"He's going to _kill _me." Steeljaw gave an alarmed look over his shoulder.

"No, _I'm _going to kill you. I think you damaged my valve, you aftwit." Frenzy swung at him, not really meaning to connect.

"I'm _sorry_."

* * *

Some hours later, an unhappily sober Ratchet regarded both symbionts.

"I believe I warned you two about this possibility," he growled.

"I said owe. He didn't stop." Frenzy, sullen, wiped at the energon coating his thighs, and then threw the rag at Steeljaw, who ducked. Frenzy's damage had turned out to be minor but painful and messy, and Ratchet had repaired it easily enough.

"I was drunk. I woulda stopped as soon as I realized, but ... I was drunk." Steeljaw looked dejected. "I am _sorry_."

"Frenzy, what have we learned today?" Ratchet turned his attention to the smaller of the pair.

"I'm never facing with him again."

"How about, 'I won't play catch with my bigger partner when he's that drunk.'"

"C'mon, Ratchet. 'I was drunk' is _not _an excuse." Frenzy still wasn't in a forgiving mood.

"Hnnh. Steeljaw, what have you learned?"

"I can hurt Frenzy if I'm not careful. We've fragged so many times ... I didn't _think_, damnit. I wasn't thinking!"

Ratchet rolled his optics. "I know."

"... and I've never hurt him before. I will _never _get that carried away again. It felt so good, and he was enjoying it ..."

"Were you?" Ratchet asked Frenzy, sharply.

"Well, yeah. Until he _hurt _me."

"So you didn't try to stop him. He didn't force you. It was just rough 'facing and it got out of hand."

Frenzy, a bit sourly, rumbled, "Yeah, guess so."

Ratchet clapped his hands together, making both of them jump. "So. Lesson learned. Frenzy, he didn't mean it. Next time, you _top _if you want to frag and he's that intoxicated. I know you swing both ways. Steeljaw, watch your strength in the future. And don't eat so many of Sideswipe's energon jellies - they're more potent than they taste. Now, if I ever see you two in here again for the same injury, I'll personally weld your panels _shut_."

"Ah ... yessir." Steeljaw looked extremely embarrassed.

"Ratchet, you're an aft." Frenzy shook his head, and slid off the exam table.

Steeljaw gave him a dejected look and didn't follow him towards the door.

Frenzy eyed him, then walked backwards in his own tracks. He lifted a hand and smacked Steeljaw, hard enough to hurt just a little. "There. We're even. Oh, wait." He whacked him again. "That's for calling me 'sweetspark.'"

Ratchet snorted a laugh. Frenzy was still pissed off, but in a mood where he'd likely forgive Steeljaw as soon as he calmed down a bit more. That wouldn't take long. Frenzy had a hot temper, but like his master, he just didn't carry grudges.

Steeljaw rubbed his cranium against a forelimb, then regarded the medic sourly. "Been giving Frenzy lessons, Hatchet?"

"Don't look at me. You probably deserved it. Now git, before he remembers something else he wants to hit you for."

Frenzy whacked Steeljaw again as Steeljaw slunk past him. "And _that's _for licking me."


	4. Chapter 4

Best Laid Plans

Chapter 4

* * *

Optimus woke with no memory of how he'd gone offline, and the distinct impression that he wasn't alone. He could hear the whine of another mech's fans, close by. He froze, optics still off and battle systems spinning up with the utter silence that only a mech with as many combat mods as he had could accomplish.

Only when his hydraulics were fully pressurized and his weapons capacitors at maximum charge did he open his optics.

He was in his own quarters.

A few feet away, and facing him, Skyfire was straddling a chair backwards, arms folded across the back, and head resting on his arms. His optics were off. His wings trailed nearly to the ground, relaxed in recharge. His long legs were tucked up a bit awkwardly.

Optimus's processor was full of errors, and his frame hurt in ways that it hadn't in eons.

_Must've passed out_, Optimus realized, chagrined. He let his systems power down to normal last thing he remembered was eating some very good energon jellies. It had been a very, very, long time since he'd gotten intoxicated enough to offline - though it was also not the first time in his life. It wasn't even the first time as Prime.

Skyfire's cerulean blue optics blinked on. The shuttle straightened up.

"Skyfire - You were assigned to watch over me?" Optimus guessed, embarrassed. He had probably been intoxicated enough that they had been worried about him. Slowly, painfully, he levered himself upright. His _struts _hurt. Everything seemed too bright and too loud, and even the quiet hum of Skyfire's fans made his tank churn.

Skyfire shook his head, blinking away the remnants of his own recharge. "I volunteered. None of your advisors were in any shape themselves, and I didn't trust anyone else."

Optimus rubbed his forehead with two fingers. "My apologies."

"Oh, none needed. I'd say three quarters of the crew is waking up to the same hangover you've got," Skyfire said, a bit too cheerfully. "Those energon gummies in the big pile on the table? _Potent_. Sideswipe used jet grade to brew the high grade for them, and then he added a whole bunch of carbon, which masked the taste."

Optimus blinked at him.

"To be fair, I don't think he anticipated how popular they would be, and most mecha didn't recognize their strength." Skyfire reached into his subspace and produced a cube of crystal clear solar energon, twinkling with an unknown additive.

"What's that?" Optimus asked, as Skyfire held it out to him. He wasn't capable yet of more coherent thought, much less questions.

"My own hangover remedy. Figured you'd need it."

"... yeah." He knew he didn't sound much like himself, so he tried again. "Thank you, Skyfire."

"No problem. Drink it _slowly_."

He sipped it. It was light and cool.

"Thank you, for staying with me." Optimus ran a hand over his face, after another sip. "I am embarrassed by my excess indulgence. Did I do anything ... unseemly at the party?"

Skyfire shook his head. "Nah. You just hugged everyone, then fell asleep on the couch. Sunstreaker and I carried you home."

"Sunstreaker?"

"Apparently, he's already acquainted with those jellies and avoided them."

Optimus slowly swallowed another mouthful of the clear, delicately flavored energon. It was settling his tank and easing some of the sensor errors. "I do not want to think what the disciplinary reports will look like."

"Prowl checked in on you a few hours ago. He said nothing major happened, even with all the 'cons we had on base. It seems the peace is holding - and I expect the party only helped."

"Starscream?" Optimus asked the obvious question, about the most likely source of minor trouble. Ratchet sometimes claimed that the seeker was an aspect of Unicron himself, due to his ability to sow chaos and dissent with so very little effort.

"Prowl said he made sure Starscream consumed numerous jellies and several cubes of high grade. _You _fell asleep. Starscream actually passed out. Hook is watching him until he regains consciousness."

"Prowl is my chief of tactical operations for a reason," Optimus murmured, amused. "Skyfire, thank you again."

"No problem." The shuttle rose from the chair. "I'll be going now - I've got work in the lab to get back to."

"You could not have gotten much sleep." Guilt tugged at Optimus's spark. Skyfire would have been watching to make sure he didn't purge while in recharge or waken in a confused state and injure himself. He truly had not, and should not, have allowed himself to become that intoxicated. Ratchet would likely read him the riot act later.

Skyfire lifted one shoulder up in half a shrug. "I would have worked very late if you had not interrupted us."

"You work too hard, Skyfire."

"I enjoy the work." Skyfire smiled genuinely. "I'm happy in my lab, Prime. The war is over, and I have real, meaningful work, to do. I can't tell you how much that means to me."

Optimus matched Skyfire's smile. "I can understand that. There are times when I greatly miss the Iaconian library. I won't keep you from your work any more ... thank you, Skyfire, for caring enough to stay. I don't often indulge to this degree, and do not plan to repeat the experience again."

"Those jellies should have warning labels on them. That's a serious suggestion."

Optimus laughed, despite the fact that it made his frame hurt from his feet to his optics. "For some mecha, a warning on high grade jellies would be seen as an invitation, or a challenge ... though not myself."

"Mmm. Yes."

"- Skyfire, when is your mid-day refueling?" He asked, impulsively.

The shuttle replied, "Whenever I want - Prowl doesn't have me on an official shift right now. He stopped bothering when Red Alert gave him a summary of just how many hours _off _shift I spend in the lab."

"Ah." Optimus rubbed his nose. "I generally refuel about noon, human time. Would you join me?"

"Sure, what's up?" Clearly, Skyfire assumed it would be a business lunch.

"If it looks like I'm in a meeting with someone, I have an excuse to avoid refueling with Starscream." Optimus shook his head ruefully. "I'd rather refuel and take a break with someone I genuinely like rather than ... "

"My ex? I _truly _understand." Skyfire laughed. His blue eyes were bright. "Certainly, I'll be there."

* * *

The moment he stepped into his office, Optimus knew that something wasn't right. It wasn't unusual for him to find one or more of his advisors already there before him, but their _mood _was unusually serious.

Jazz and Prowl were already there, heads bent over a datapad. Red Alert, looking more agitated than was usual, was using Prime's terminal to scan what looked like radar images. Soundwave stood behind Red Alert, arms folded across his chest and expression grim.

"Ah ... good morning."

Jazz glanced up. "How are ya feeling, boss bot?"

"My apologies for my excessive indulgence last night. And - I will survive. Do we have a situation that needs my attention?"

"Ayup. And don' feel bad. Ah had to carry Prowl home, too. Those energon jellies need warning labels."

Prowl said ruefully, "If we'd had the resources to make them during the war, we could have simply shipped a few boxes to the Nemesis, waited several hours, and then attacked the ship at will."

"I believe I banned any use of chemical warfare long ago," Prime said, with a wry smile. "What is the situation?"

"An unknown craft entered Earth's atmosphere at 03:15 this morning." Red Alert explained. "It crash landed in the Mohave desert. Human authorities have already secured it, and are denying that it exists."

Optimus ran a hand over his face. "Identity?"

"Unknown," Jazz emphasized, with a grin. "But based on the tachyon pulse we picked up just before radar detected it, we're guessing it's from an advanced civilization."

"How bad of a crash?"

"Well, no seismic sensors were triggered. Mighta been a hard landing rather'n a true crash." Jazz scratched the side of his nasal ridge, under his visor. "Human chatter on the defense channels referred to it as a crash, but they were also talking about survivors."

Optimus quirked an optic ridge upward. "Any idea of the species?"

"Nope."

Optimus folded his arms across his chest, and considered. He didn't trust the human government, and if there were survivors, the humans could do anything to them up to and including dissection. On the other hand, they had to play nice with their human allies. On the third hand, not every alien species was friendly and Optimus _really _wanted to know what type of ship had just landed on their adopted homeworld.

If they were Nebulan traders, there was no issue with humans safety - and if the humans were actually diplomatic, ethical, and _didn't _dissect their alien visitors, they might find themselves with a kindred race as trading partners. If they were Quintessons, on the other hand, Earth had a huge problem.

"Jazz, Prowl, plan a recon mission. Stealth is priority number one. I'll see what I can find out through diplomatic channels, but if that fails, we need to know what we're dealing with."

"T' humans got _no _clue what they might be playing with," Jazz said, grimly.

"I will plan a possible snatch and grab of the survivors, too," Prowl inclined his head. "I am planning on sending Mirage, Hound, Steeljaw, Blaster, and Frenzy."

"Frenzy ain't ops."

"Our intelligence suggests that the survivors of the crash have been taken into an underground base, and the potential entrances are small air shafts. I do not wish to send Steeljaw underground without backup, and he is not capable of climbing down an air shaft un-assisted. I have no question of Frenzy's loyalty to us, and Frenzy is capable and very well trained."

Soundwave rumbled, "Frenzy, suitable for task."

Jazz snorted. "More suitable than Eject, I'd say, and Rewind's busy doing PR work in Asia right now. Yah, Frenzy it is. I'll brief him on our procedures. Prowl, give me a couple of days to get him up to speed on Autobot spec ops details."

"It will take at least that long to get all of our resources ready." Prowl nodded.

Soundwave added, "Frenzy, well trained and professional. Requires only Autobot-specific training."

"Which would normally take more than a few days, but ah'll give him a crash course. Hope yer boy's got nothing else on his schedule ..." Jazz said, with a grin that implied evil things like _lots and lots _of studying, cram style.

Soundwave's laugh made everyone at the table look at him. "Frenzy, more familiar with Autobot protocol than you are factoring into your calculations. Do not forget, Frenzy, often tasked with spying on Autobots."

Jazz tipped an imaginary hat in Soundwave's direction. "Ya got me there, m'man."

* * *

He still hurt.

Grouchily, Frenzy shifted in his chair and ignored the fourth message that Steeljaw had sent to his inbox in the last hour. He tried to ignore, with less success, the discomfort of healing internal parts while he worked. He had a stack of emails from workers on the assorted energon plant projects that he needed to answer.

He shared an office with Soundwave, and he'd retreated to it to catch up on his message queue. His desk, mounted on a shelf on the wall at average-mech-optic-height, was a welcome refuge.

When he stopped to think about it, it still amazed him that he'd been made general foreman over the power projects. He was certainly qualified - he'd been overseeing construction of communication installations for Soundwave for thousands of vorns. He could work with either faction, and he was respected well enough by the Autobots. However, he was a former Decepticon and there were qualified Autobots who could have been given the position.

He approved leave for two mechs, signed off on a purchase order for steel, delegated finding the cheapest source of a specific type of copper wiring to Hot Rod, and referred two media inquiries to Prowl's office and six to Rewind. He shifted again, flinched at a sharp stab of pain, and then sent an email to Prowl to request a convey class mech to transport the steel.

Prowl quickly responded with a note that he had assigned Ultra Magnus to the task. Frenzy's optic ridges went up. Even Optimus had been known to take on transport duty as needed, but this was not a high priority supply run. With the end of the war, the Cybertronians on Earth had turned their attention to a construction boom and they were consistently short-handed.

He sent a quick note to Prowl, "Prowl, a suggestion: We could train some of the symbionts to drive earth vehicles, and rent or purchase a few tractors and trailers."

Prowl's response took a moment longer. "It's been discussed. Obtaining CDL drivers licenses for mechlings will require extensive red tape and possibly some changes to legal code re: required physicals for CDL classification. Also, energon is considered a dangerous substance, so in transporting _themselves _mechlings are legally transporting hazardous cargo and would require a special license. We are interviewing human drivers with the required licensing as an interim solution. Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus has a diplomatic mission in the same area as the plant requiring the steel. It is not far out of his way and he is a convoy class mech who has the power to pull that heavy of a load with ease."

"Understood."

Human paperwork never ceased to amaze him.

They had been working to formalize their relationship with human authorities, as it was clear Cybertron would not be habitable for a very long time (if ever again). Prime's current plan was for his people to seek refuge on earth and openly live among humans. On the surface, it seemed like a workable plan.

Human industry was _begging _for Cybertronian tech. Since most human governments were run, to varying degrees, by commercial interests, it hadn't taken much convincing for the human dignitaries to sign treaties and pass laws that gave Cybertronians acceptable legal protection (and even the promise of citizenship in some countries) in exchange for select technology. Prime had handled this deftly and surprisingly swiftly.

What was harder to handle, and promised considerable legal wrangling for years to come, were changes to the _minor _laws on a mostly-local level. Cybertronians with grounder alt modes had been granted blanket federal approval to drive on American roads, and aerials could fly using the same air traffic control protocols as Earthly aircraft. Those had been non-negotiable requirements, as far as the Cybertronians were concerned, when making treaties.

However, it seemed as if obtaining a commercial driver's license for a mecha who did _not _have a vehicle alt mode (and was small enough to drive an earth transport) was going to fall into the category of "aggravating red tape." Curious, he pulled up the medical requirements ... and rolled his optics. They were definitely not applicable to Cybertronians. It seemed that a separate set of standards for mecha had not yet been created, and until it had been, mechlings would not be driving big rigs.

Frenzy, morbidly curious, pulled up the requirements for a pilot's license. He'd been flying various aircraft since before humans had invented pottery - including _spacecraft. _Yeaaaah ... it was going to be a few years, he supposed, before he could get even a private pilot's license.

He had just huffed a sigh of aggravation and turned his attention back to his message queue when the door to the office slid open. Hot Rod padded in, arms laden with data pads.

"Special delivery from engineering."

Frenzy echoed his own sigh. He gestured at Soundwave's much larger desk, which had more free space. "Set 'em down there."

On Hot Rod's heels, Steeljaw slipped in just as the door was closing.

"Not talking to you," Frenzy growled.

Steeljaw shook his head, "This is business, Frenzy."

Hot Rod looked between the two of them. "You two fighting?"

"Yes," Frenzy growled.

"Ah ... I screwed up." Steeljaw hung his head. "He's pissed at me, justifiably. But this _is _business."

"Should I, uh, go?" Hot Rod hesitated, sounding adorably protective. Frenzy didn't need protecting from anyone, particularly Steeljaw, but Hot Rod's recently developed tendency to defend him was ... cute. In a vaguely disturbing way.

Frenzy quirked an optic ridge up at Steeljaw. Steeljaw jerked his chin at the door. "Yeah, it's classified, kid."

"See ya later, then."

"Don't go far. We'll need a lift to main HQ." Steeljaw corrected gently. The base was scaled for large mecha, and one of Hot Rod's duties was transporting Frenzy - and by extension Steeljaw - anywhere they needed to get to in a hurry. There were close to five miles of tunnels from here to the main headquarters.

"Oh, okay. I'll wait outside."

As soon as Hot Rod exited, Steeljaw shook his head. "How are you two doing together?"

"Who, me and Roddy? He's okay. I think we established the pecking order pretty early on." Frenzy smirking. Hot Rod was a grunt, and had no training or knowledge about anything other combat-related skills. Frenzy had far more education, was at least a hundred vorns older, and most importantly, Hot Rod had been explicitly commanded to follow Frenzy's orders. Then the playful grin vanished.

Steeljaw hung his head. "You okay to work with me? 'Cuz Jazz has a job for us."

"For ... me." He wasn't Special Ops. He wasn't even an _Autobot_.

"Yah."

He rose from his chair, and dropped over the edge of the shelf. He fired his thrusters and landed lightly beside the cybercat. Arms folded, he regarded Steeljaw for a long, silent, moment. Finally, with a roll of his optics, he said, "Mech, I can be professional with _Starscream_. I actually _like _you."

Steeljaw's frame literally sagged with relief. "I was ... I was worried ..."

"Oh, slag it." Faced with Steeljaw's big optics and truly apologetic demeanor, he felt _guilty _about remaining pissed for as long as he had. He huffed, "You're forgiven."

"You are _scary _when you're mad, you know." Steeljaw pressed his frame into Frenzy's arms, and wrapped a forelimb around Frenzy's waist in a strong, intense, hug.

"You're just now figuring this out?" Frenzy nuzzled him briefly. "Primus. I thought you were more observant than that!"

Steeljaw chuckled. "You know I love you with all my spark. I was scared you were going to, like, leave me forever or something. Halfway feel I'd deserve it, too."

"Nah." Frenzy looked him in the optics, which were guileless and deeply apologetic. "We're good. I just ... I just have a thing about being hurt, even accidentally. As Ratchet said, I've got _issues_."

"I knew that before I even knew you. Still love you."

How could one stay mad with a mech whose optics shone with that much love?

After a final squeeze, he released Steeljaw. "C'mon. Let's go see Jazz."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"New alt?" Steeljaw said, conversationally, as they approached Mirage. The noble was in alt mode and waiting for them at the Ark's exit.

Mirage said tartly, "I prefer not to be seen in a dated vehicle."

"Hey, whatever makes you happy." Steeljaw hopped into the passenger seat of the 2015 Alfa Romeo Spider. "Pretty car."

"It's not even on the market yet." Frenzy ran a hand over Mirage's front quarter panel in admiration. "Gorgeous choice. How'd you get to transcan it?"

"Hey!" Mirage objected to the touch with a growl of his engine. "Do you mind?"

"Hey yourself." Now grouchy, Frenzy opened the driver's door and slid into the seat.

"He touched your arm, Mirage. You're not going to catch cooties." Steeljaw's voice held a low laugh.

"There is such a thing as personal space," Mirage sniffed.

"Yeah, yeah." Frenzy buckled in, then reached over and tightened a seatbelt around Steeljaw's frame as best he could. "I forgot you're one of those snooty towerlings."

"I am not snooty."

"Arrogant, then."

"I am not."

Steeljaw snorted a laugh. "Mirage, he's yanking your chain. You realize that, yes?"

"Oh."

"Yeah." Frenzy patted Mirage's steering wheel comfortingly. "You're not so bad, by noble standards."

"What would you know of nobles?" Mirage said, a bit testily, as he accelerated away from the Ark.

Frenzy and Steeljaw exchanged glances, but Frenzy elected not to spell out to Mirage just how much he knew about noble society, from hard personal experience. Frenzy, still in full-on baiting mode, simply said, "Can't take a compliment?"

That earned him a cool response from the much larger mech. "That is not much of a compliment, given the standard you mentioned."

Frenzy giggled. "Oh?"

"And you're not so bad by neutral standards, I suppose."

"Wha ... hey."

"I note that you wear no-one's sigil." Mirage's cultured tones were purring and smooth. Steeljaw hid a smirk by looking out the window. If Frenzy thought he could win a war of subtle insults with the noble, perhaps he had forgotten what noble society was like.

"Yeah, but ..."

"By definition, you are therefore a neutral. Which, I suppose, is better than swearing fealty to Starscream, but one would think if you were truly on our side, you would have taken the Autobot oath."

Frenzy huffed. "There's reasons for that."

"Oh? Do enlighten me."

"Political ones. You're so smart, you figure them out."

Mirage chuckled. "Frenzy, peace. I have no issue with you or yours."

Frenzy made an inarticulate grunt that might have indicated agreement.

Steeljaw, unworried by the bickering, shifted a bit in his seat and tried to get comfortable. The Spider's bucket seats were small, and not well suited for a symbiont the size of a several-hundred-pound earth lion. Mirage's current alt didn't have a back seat he could recline across. Had this been anything but a mission requiring discretion, he would have preferred to run rather than ride in such a cramped space. Steeljaw could maintain a swift forty to fifty mile per hour loping run for hours - or even days, if he had an opportunity to refuel.

"Are you doing okay, Frenzy?" Mirage asked, with real concern. They'd worked together many times before, as their skillsets meshed well.

"I'm fine." He cocked his hips sideways and let a back leg hang off the seat into the footwell. That was a little more comfortable.

"I'll be running silent from here on out," Mirage said, conversationally. From the inside, there was no way to tell that he had just engaged his disruptors, except that the tire noise abruptly disappeared.

"Mirage," Frenzy said, in a tone that was far softer than before, "did you know that we met before the war?"

Steeljaw perked up a bit. This was something he hadn't known.

"We did?"

"I was indentured to Lady Fairwinds. Her brother was beating me, and he'd already knocked Rumble offline. You stopped it, and you carried Rumble to Fairwinds' secretary and demanded we be given medical treatment. I never got a chance to thank you."

"I ... remember that. You were marked with the house colors then. You were just younglings, as I recall, and your only offense was laughing too loudly as you cleaned."

"Yes." Frenzy ran a hand over his face.

"... and no thanks is necessary."

"Few other nobles would have cared, or even noticed."

"You were children." Mirage hissed.

"The secretary - do you remember him?"

"Vaguely. There was quite a scandal involving him after Fairwinds died ... oh." Mirage fell silent. Steeljaw guessed he'd just remembered the name of that secretary. 'Soundwave' wasn't exactly an uncommon name, and Mirage would have archived the details long ago.

"I never realized. Were you bonded to him then?"

"Primus, no. We were children, as you said." Frenzy folded his arms across his chest. "But after ... after Soundwave lost his inheritance, which should have included us, he purchased our papers from the house with the last of his personal money, and freed us. Then they tracked us down, because we'd already run away. Funny thing is, by the time he had Ravage and the birds found us, we were adults, and they were more destitute than we were."

"Was he truly bonded to Fairwinds?"

"Yes, he was."

"Fraggers." Mirage said, with feeling. "I never did like her family. Fairwinds was a fine lady, but the rest of that lot were a waste of energon."

"I agree." Frenzy leaned back in the seat, optic shutters closing briefly.

"Soundwave looked quite different then."

"Yes, he did. He was badly damaged. Megatron paid for his rebuild, in exchange for his loyalty."

"Ah. I wondered how he ended up a Decepticon."

"He was already a Decepticon," Frenzy corrected. "But not a very high ranking one. His commanding officers didn't trust him, and didn't treat him well. Megatron understood what an oath of loyalty means to a carrier, and Megatron had known Soundwave since before the Decepticons existed. That was the price for the rebuild: Soundwave's personal loyalty. Else, he would have been euthanized due to the extreme degree of damage."

"Were you bonded to him then?"

"Yes."

"What did you think of that price?" Mirage asked, curiously.

"I just wanted him to live. Politics, so not my thing. And I liked Megatron, at least back then. You have to understand, our kind - carriers and symbionts alike - are drawn to powerful leaders. Ravage thought we should contact the Autobots and ask for the same deal, but Soundwave feared that the Autobots would not accept Ravage and overruled him."

"... Why?" Mirage said, somewhat surprised. Steeljaw, listening quietly, mentally echoed Mirage's shocked sentiment. Ravage had been ancient, and had previous experience in special ops during the Quintesson wars.

"He had a criminal record. An extensive one. He did what he had to, to survive ... plus he murdered a mech who killed his second carrier."

"Oh." Mirage fell silent for a moment. "That might have complicated things, I suppose. The Autobots can be ... cautious ... at times."

"Heh. You're telling me." Frenzy ran a hand over his optics. "Of course, given what we later learned of Jazz's history, I think Ravage might have had a better chance than we realized. And ... I think I'd have given half my spark energon just to have watched Ravage and Jazz work together."

"Not Soundwave and Jazz?"

"Oh, that would have been entertaining, too. But Ravage had this a truly evil sense of humor, and he loved - what's the human term? Gaslighting? People. He'd make 'em think they were crazy, just for giggles, all the while pretending to be cold and aloof and never cracking so much as a smile."

"I can see the appeal."

"I miss him," Frenzy said, voice barely above a whisper. "All of them."

Mirage said, a bit awkwardly, "Ah ... They were your bondmates. Of course you do."

"And my friends. My family."

Ravage leaned across the center console and rested his head against Frenzy's shoulder. Frenzy reached up and stroked his neck.

"I can understand that. I lost ... everyone ... during the war."

He lost everything to a Decepticon strike on Iacon that Soundwave helped engineer, Steeljaw thought, but did not point out.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm glad the war is over." Mirage said, after a long sigh and a moment of thoughtful silence. "I always believed that if we could just get leaders together who were willing to talk rather than fight there was a real chance for peace. Unfortunately, Megatron was not exactly willing."

"Heh. Between Starscream and Prime, that's not a problem now. Talk-talk-talkety-talk. Prime pontificates and Starscream talks about grand plans that include himself as the star. War, over."

Mirage said, dryly, "It's better than killing each other."

"Oh, yes." Frenzy firmly agreed. "Yes. It is."

The base was in the middle of nowhere in the Southwestern United States. Mirage, running absolutely silent and invisible, followed a black government sedan through the gate, and then down a long road that led them through miles of desolate, flat, high desert.

Mirage kept close to the bumper of the vehicle. While his electro-disruptor could bend light around his frame, and he had noise dampening technology, there were a few other ways he could be detected. Chief among them was vibration and weight - no matter how silent he was, his wheels or his feet were still in contact with the ground.

They knew for a fact that the humans had sensors embedded in the road that would detect Mirage if he drove alone up this road. However, if he drove right on the bumper of the sedan, it was unlikely that he would trigger any alerts.

It went without saying that they did not want the human government to detect this intrusion. Knowing what - and who - had landed on Earth was critical, because there was a high possibility that it could be a hostile race that the humans would be unprepared to defend against. Alternately, it could be a friendly race, and Prime was very worried that the humans - in their naivete regarding galactic affairs - could inadvertently make enemies of a people who would otherwise be allies.

Earth was home. The future of the Cybertronian species lay here, not on Cybertron. They could not risk Earth becoming embroiled in a galactic war. Therefore, they had to gather intel and possibly act to intervene.

The dark sedan with government plates reached a compound that was surrounded by razorwire and armed guards. It rolled through the gates and Mirage scooted in after it, still close to the vehicle's bumper. Only once they were within the secured area did he part paths with it.

The compound was a fortified and heavily guarded entrance to an underground complex. Unopposed, and less worried about detection (the noise and vibration from hundreds of troops and their vehicles provided fine concealment) Mirage approached the cavernous opening into the base. It was big enough for two tractor-trailers to drive through abreast, and the enormous blast doors were wide open.

Half a dozen guards armed with automatic weapons stood guard, checking IDs.

Mirage slipped around the checkpoint and rolled silently inside. Overhead, electric lights were bright and slightly yellow. The air was dry and dusty, and cooler than outside. Mirage knew where he was headed - this was not the first time they'd infiltrated this base - and negotiated his way around vehicular traffic to an underground parking garage. There, he backed into a corner, let the symbionts out, and carefully and silently transformed. He was cautious to cover the symbionts with his electro-disruptor field the entire time.

He couldn't stay in a parking space - it would definitely alert the humans that something was up if a human car collided into Mirage's invisible form. Mirage wedged himself into a narrow space between a support pillar and a wall, with the symbionts at his feet.

They stood there, in silence, for several hours. Finally, the evening shift arrived. The hustle and bustle of the day ended, and most of the vehicles parked underground left in one rush for the exit. While not abandoned, the base was much quieter.

Still, they waited. No one moved. Steeljaw leaned against Mirage's legs, deceptively relaxed. Frenzy stood silently, too well trained in the arts of espionage to move even under the cover of an electro-disruptor shield. Humans were less alert during the early hours of the morning. They would wait until then to act.

Finally, Mirage comm'd them. _:You two ready?:_

_:Yep.:_ Steeljaw said. Frenzy nodded. Still under the cover of Mirage's invisibility field, he transformed into cassette mode. This shunted a good portion of his mass into his subspace, and made it possible for Frenzy to pick him up. Frenzy attached four magnetic clamps to his frame, then straps to the clamps, and slung Steeljaw across his back like an oversized knapsack. He tightened the straps snugly so that Steeljaw wouldn't move and rattle against his armor.

Mirage's hands closed around Frenzy's waist. The bigger mech picked him up and then walked across the underground parking garage. He descended down a ramp several levels, moving with silent caution. The ramp eventually led to a machine room, and at the back of the machine room, a ladder disappeared into a round hole in the ceiling. A ventilation shaft led upwards through most of the base, including through the lab where they presumed that the aliens were being held.

Frenzy looked up. Hundreds of feet above their head, a giant fan roared. Air rushed past them.

_:Wish me luck.:_ Frenzy said.

_:Be careful. Luck has little to do with it.:_ Mirage boosted him up into the shaft. Only after he'd climbed several feet up the ladder did he leave the effects of Mirage's invisibility field behind. He could be seen, now, but he was already in the air shaft. The shaft had cameras but they were currently displaying an endless loop showing an empty shaft. Blaster's remote hacking skills were impressive.

Steeljaw's weight was a manageable burden on his back. The other symbiont was, for the most part, silent. The cybercat only spoke across their comms once, _:I'm detecting organic biological compounds inconsistent with earth biology.:_

And that was why Steeljaw was essential for this mission. Steeljaw's sensors, even in cassette form, were far better than Frenzy.

_:Can you identify the race?:_

_:... Not yet. I'm currently narrowing down the possibilities.:_

Steeljaw fell silent, a warm and solid weight against Frenzy's back. Frenzy could hear the click and whir of the cybercat's fans as he climbed higher.

The lab was several stories up. Frenzy reached a concrete-lined passage that led horizontally away from the shaft, and carefully entered it. Air blew against his face, sucked out of the underground base by the fans high above. In root mode, Steeljaw would never have fit into this tunnel. Frenzy had to pull the other cassette after him as he crawled on his hands and knees. The diameter of the tunnel was only a few feet.

A hundred feet in, they reached a junction and the concrete tunnel ended. Flimsy metal air ducts forked off in several directions. They would not hold Frenzy's weight, but there was also a grill that opened into a hall.

The hall was brightly lit. This was the most dangerous phase of their infiltration.

_:Jazz, we good to go?:_ Frenzy asked.

Jazz's answer was a cheerful, _:You're clear. I still don't have a visual on the lab - it might not have security cameras in it.:_

_:They're probably worried video might get into the wrong hands,:_ Steeljaw speculated.

Jazz, who had discretely hacked in to the base's security, had the hall cameras showing another endless loop. He was also monitoring the real live feed from the cameras, and would alert them if anyone approached.

Frenzy opened the grill, and stepped into the hall. He pulled Steeljaw out after him. The cat gratefully transformed, and then slipped soundlessly down the hall towards the lab at the end.

Steeljaw sniffed at the door. _:Nobody home but us aliens,:_ he pronounced. It was a moment's work to hack the door's key pad, and then they were able to soundlessly enter the lab itself.

It was freezing cold in the room, and reeked of formalin. Amid a jumble of lab equipment, two bodies lay on stainless slabs. Frenzy's optic ridges rose as he took them in. They were not any race he recognized. One body was mangled and charred. The other had likely been mostly intact before the humans had been partially dissected it. Between the two, he could put together an anatomy that was bipedal, with fluffy, metallic blue feathers, a white feathered crest, white feathered fringes on their arms and calves, and enormous (now sightless) amber eyes. They had long-fingered hands, faces that were rather similar to human or Cybertronian norms, and enormous cat-like ears framing their feathered crests. Cybernetic implants were visible at the base of their skulls, and at various points on their bodies.

_:You recognize the species? 'Cuz I got nothing.:_

_:Ah ... yeah, I've seen 'em before.:_ Steeljaw padded closer. _:Kiktans. They're not from this region of space, but my first master used to take us pretty far afield. We rode on a ship with Kiktan crew once. - Frenzy, we got a live one here too.:_

A small cell had been constructed at the back of the room. Inside, a small Kiktan stood. Its feathers were on end, puffed out like an angry cat, with crest forward and ears pinned and golden eyes narrowed to slits. It hissed as they approached, crouching, and wielding a plastic fork as if it was a weapon.

The Kiktan was only waist high to Frenzy.

Steeljaw cursed sharply in Cybertronian across the comms, then added, _:Slagging idiots ... how could they be so cruel?:_

_:Steelie?:_

_:That's a child. She's maybe five or six years old. Hold on, let me unpack my Kiktan language files - they're archived.:_

The child hissed again, and made a stabbing gesture at them with her fork. She flipped her long feathered crest forward aggressively, clearly agitated. The motion revealed that she had a metal implant similar to the adults' attached to the base of her skull. It cupped the back of her head, reaching almost to her jaw on either side.

Steeljaw said something in a fluid, melodious language that was punctuated by sharp clicks and glottal stops.

The child froze, crest pinning itself flat to her head. The long feathers were long enough that they trailed down her back to her waist. Slowly, the short blue fluffy feathers that covered her skin settled.

Steeljaw sat down on his haunches and spoke quietly to her.

She answered, hesitantly. With her fork-free hand, she reached out and touched the bars that separated them. Steeljaw said his name in English. The child answered with, "Allowyn."

_:Her name's Allowyn. - Blaster, I think an extraction is appropriate. They have the poor kid in a lab here staring at her dead parents, while they dissect them.:_

_:Slaggers. Yeah, grab her. Any other survivors?:_

_:She says no. It was just the three of them. Her parents died in the crash. They were hoping to trade with humans.:_

Steeljaw hacked the electronic lock on the cage while Frenzy stood guard. The child hesitated before suddenly darting out of the open door, then stood between them, looking very frightened.

Frenzy offered her his hand. Delicate organic fingers slipped into his sturdy grip. Careful to telegraph his intentions, he pulled her gently closer, then picked her up. She weighed very little, and somewhere along the line, she'd dropped her plastic fork. Utterly harmless, fragile, and tiny, she clung to his neck and trembled against his frame.

_:Let's get out of here.: _Steeljaw headed for the exit.

During the ride home, Allowyn rode in Frenzy's lap. In lieu of a seatbelt for her, he wrapped his arms around her tiny body. This would not have worked for a human, but he was able to lock his elbows and had far greater strength in his arms. She seemed to take this as a hug, because she clung to him tightly. Her trembling slowly lessened, but her big golden eyes were liquid with unshed tears.

Steeljaw transmitted a Kiktan lexicon to him and Mirage both. The language was melodious, with more vowels than consonant, and highly , Frenzy told her, "We'll keep you safe."

She said nothing, just gripped his neck tighter.

"I'm Frenzy."

"Are you a drone?" She asked, voice very soft. "I had a teaching drone, but it was broken in the crash."

"No!" He said, a bit sharply. He lowered his voice. "I'm not a drone. I'm alive, just like you. I've just got a lot more cybernetic implants than you do."

He tapped the silvery metal that cradled the base of her skull with one finger.

"My people have what's called a protoform. When we're born, all we are is a protoform and a spark. All the robot bits are just added on top."

"Protoform?"

He flared the armor on his wrist, displaying silvery-metallic ropes of protomass that wove through the struts and wires of his frame. Curiously, she touched the pliant living metal with one long finger. Protomass was always warm, and moved slightly in reaction to being touched.

"Careful, he's ticklish," Steeljaw said, a bit teasingly.

"Shh!" He hissed at the cybercat. "Steeljaw's the same species I am. So is Mirage. We vary a lot in appearance, but we're all the same people."

"Oh. You're not hooomans." Her vowel-heavy accent drew the word "human" out in a sing-song fashion.

"No, we're not. And we won't let the bad humans hurt you. But there are good humans where we're going. Not every human is bad."

_:She's listening to you,:_ Steeljaw commented. The child was looking up at Frenzy, her amber eyes meeting his crimson optics with an intense gaze.

"Humans, bad!" she insisted.

"Some are. Some are good, though."

"They hurt Mommy and Daddy."

"Sweety, your parents didn't feel any pain. They were gone already." Steeljaw awkwardly reached out and stroked her feathered crest with a stubby-fingered hand. "But it wasn't right what the bad humans did, and we won't let the bad humans near you again. We're going to help you. We're your friends, and we'll take care of you. I promise."

Frenzy echoed, "We promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

Allowyn clung to Frenzy's frame as they walked into the med bay. She had her long, skinny legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck, and her face buried in his shoulder. Her feathers and crest were clamped flat to her body, as if she was trying to shrink and hide.

Ratchet and Prime met them. Optimus crouched and said, in Kiktani, "Hello."

Allowyn peered over her shoulder, saw the Prime, and shrieked. She clung tighter to Frenzy. Her tiny body had a surprising amount of strength.

Steeljaw nudged her hip with his forehead. "Easy, kiddo. Optimus is my friend."

"BIG!" She shouted. Her eyes were shut and every feather clamped flat.

"She was okay with Mirage ..." Frenzy patted her back awkwardly. Her feathers were soft and silky to the touch. He spoke in English so she would not understand; he might be uncomfortable around organics, but he wasn't a complete idiot when it came to caring for children.

"Mirage didn't bend down," Steeljaw pointed out.

Prime, taking a hint, straightened up. His face was longer than Allowyn was tall. He sighed. "Ratchet, what is her condition?"

The medic was scanning her intently. He said, "Some bumps and bruises. That silver thing attached to her head is an eidetic memory drive - Kiktans practice extensive cybernetic modifications."

"What do you know about them?" Prime asked Steeljaw. "Our data's fairly limited. The Matrix had a few notes and a lexicon but that's it."

Steeljaw shrugged his shoulders. "I spent six weeks on a freighter with a crew of four. They're a fairly advanced race from the other side of this galaxy. They're very long lived, and like to explore, so I'm not all that surprised to see some turn up here. Most of their vessels are crewed by small nuclear families - usually parents and children."

Prime nodded. "They have a standardized language, correct?"

"Yeah, there's not much linguistic drift when everyone has a perfect memory." Steeljaw nodded. "Uh - I'm worried about how humans will perceive them. Aliens with cybernetic implants tend to be the villains in human entertainment. The kiddo here probably doesn't have much in the way of implants yet other than neural upgrades that they always do at birth, but her parents looked to be pretty heavily modded. Bet the American military's having a conniption fit right now."

"Or they're taking notes," Frenzy said, with a roll of his optics.

"That, too." Steeljaw grinned. "- Though, for what it's worth, I've always thought it fortunate that the humans have never made the connection between 'giant alien robots with living protoforms' and 'cyborgs' or they'd have a whole new reason to fear us."

Ratchet snorted.

Optimus ran a hand over his face. "Steeljaw," the Prime said, "You just gave my processor something to flux over tonight."

"You're welcome." Steeljaw glanced over at Frenzy. Allowyn seemed to be drifting off to sleep, likely exhausted by days of terror. Her eyes were half closed, though they were still fixed on the two larger Cybertronians. "What are we going to do with the bitlet?"

Optimus frowned. "Will her people take her back?"

"I honestly don't know. A better question would be if we can even _find _another Kiktani craft within a reasonable distance. This is way outside their usual territory, and even at maximum speed, our fastest fliers couldn't reach their arm of the galaxy in under twenty years. By the time we got her home, she'd be an adult."

Optimus's frown intensified. "I'll send an open subspace transmission calling for any Kiktani craft in range to respond ..."

At that moment, Jazz bounced through the door, a broad grin on his face. "Operation: Save Tweety is all completed, boss."

"_Tweety_?" Frenzy said, both optic ridges going up, and arms tightening defensively around the kid. "Her _name _is _Allowyn_."

"Relax, runt." Jazz laughed. "She don't speak English ..."

"Neither do you," Frenzy muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Jazz to hear.

Jazz snickered. "Touche. Aaaaanyway, Blaster n' Hound just got done wrapping up the last phase. I am happy to report a Kiktani freighter decloaked in the parking lot, and a troop of Kiktani soldiers raided the base, and flew away with the child. The humans are trying to figure out how the location was leaked to the Kiktani, but no suspicion has been directed towards us. I suggest that, if they ask us about the species, we play completely dumb."

"Or we could tell them that they're a telepathic hive-minded race of sociopathic murderers, and that earth should expect a mass invasion within the year ..." Frenzy suggested, with a grin.

Jazz snorted. "Funny. We will not be doing that."

Steeljaw shook his head at Frenzy's snarky suggestion, then stated, "I want to see the video from that raid. Hound's a master of his art."

"You may certainly view it later." Optimus crouched again so that he was on eye level with the symbionts, since the exhausted child had fallen asleep. "Steeljaw, Frenzy, will you care for the child until we can determine who her permanent guardians will be?"

"Okay, way too obvious, Boss Bot." Steeljaw chuckled.

"I don't care if he's being blatantly manipulative." Frenzy's arms tightened a bit around the child he was holding. "I'll do it."

"I am glad to hear that. Steeljaw, are you in agreement with your partner?"

"Yeah, I don't mind."

"I was about her age when my parents were killed." Frenzy huffed an aggravated sigh. "And I'm close enough to her size not to terrify her. I'd have to be a lot more of an aft than I usually am to to turn away a kid like this. Anyway, you lot'd probably give her to the Witwickys to babysit if I refused, and after what she saw the humans do to her parents ... no. Just, _no_."

Optimus nodded gravely. "Ratchet, will you help Frenzy determine her dietary, environmental, and hygiene needs?"

"I don't know a damned thing about Kiktani biology."

"Well, you'll have to figure it out, since she'll be living with us." Frenzy glared up at the medic.

"Primus, I hope the little scraplet's housebroken." Ratchet grumbled, but Frenzy could tell it was mostly for show. Ratchet had to keep appearances up, even if he, too, felt protective of the small organic child. Ratchet had a soft side that he tried to keep hidden, but it really wasn't much of a secret.

* * *

An hour later, the exhausted child was curled up on a pallet on the floor in Frenzy's quarters. While Ratchet searched through archived data in ancient records to determine the child's basic needs, and occasionally sent files he found to them, Steeljaw and Frenzy curled up together on Ratchet's couch.

It felt good, Frenzy thought, to lean against Steeljaw's greater bulk, shutter his optics, and just relax. Steeljaw was warm and strong, sturdy, and utterly calm. The cybercat nuzzled his helm, casually affectionate.

Ratchet grunted, "I've got to go check something out with Percy. Kid's going to need mineral supplements - dunno if he's got the supplies we'll need or not."

After he was gone, Steeljaw cocked his head sideways, and then said, "Kid's sound asleep."

"You can tell that from here?" The child was sleeping in Frenzy's room, with the door closed so the room would be dark and quiet.

"Kiktani have a really fast metabolism when they're awake. They sort've hibernate when they sleep. Heart rate drops by two thirds." Steeljaw nuzzled Frenzy briefly, then hesitated. "I love you, Frenzy. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." Frenzy invented deeply. "Ratch'll be awhile. Soundwave's in a conference with Prime an' Jazz an' Blaster. Make love to me?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am. And if you hurt me, I'll take a pile driver to your parts."

"That's _so _romantic." Steeljaw laughed at him. "Frenzy, you'd better top."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"No, _you_."

Ten seconds later, they were collapsed in very quiet giggles on the couch, the mood totally lost for the second.

"No, no, you." Steeljaw said, when he had control of his vocalizer again.

"Okay, me."

"No, you ... what? Okay, you!" Steeljaw said, then meeped with a ridiculously high pitched, muffled, squawk as Frenzy tackled him. Tickling briefly ensued, with both of them trying to muffle the noise as best as possible. Steeljaw ended up on his back with Frenzy sprawled between his back legs. Frenzy stretched up to kiss him, still grinning. Steeljaw held him close and tight with his front legs, paws transformed into stubby fingers.

"Soundwave's coming!" Frenzy gasped, suddenly.

"I thought you said he was in a conference!"

"He was!"

The door slid open. Soundwave padded through. They hastily parted from their embrace, and both of them peered over the back of the couch at him, not even bothering to try to look innocent. Bonded as closely as they were, Soundwave undoubtedly knew what Frenzy was up to.

Blandly, the carrier said, _:Datapad, required. Apologies for intrusion.:_

Soundwave retrieved a pad from his desk, then left with a parting comment, _:Continuation of activities, now permissible.:_

"Oh, like I need your permission, boss!" Frenzy shouted at the closing door. He was grinning.

Inside his quarters, Allowyn made a small noise, then burst into tears. She was crying for her parents. Frenzy's outburst had woken her.

"... Frenzy, really?" Steeljaw said, in a very, very, disappointed tone.

Frenzy shrank down inside his plating. "Sorry?"

Maybe the kid would go back to sleep if they left her alone. Frenzy had certainly cried himself into recharge often enough as a child.

Steeljaw hopped off the couch and padded into the room. Apparently, they wouldn't be letting her cry it out. "Hey, kiddo," Steeljaw said. He sat down on the pallet next to her.

She looked at him dubiously. Then she saw Frenzy in the doorway and held her arms out. Frenzy, who had been standing uncertainly in the background, hurried forward. Acting on pure instinct, he scooped her up and then sat down with her in his lap. Still sobbing a little, she clung to him.

Steeljaw reached a stubby-fingered hand out and stroked her back. "It's okay, kiddo. It's okay. Don't cry."

"No. It's not okay, and she's allowed to cry." Frenzy glared at him, then tipped Allowyn's chin up with one finger. He looked her in the eyes and said, "You can cry all you want. What happened to you is terrible and awful and hurts. You'll miss your parents forever. I know. My creators died when I was little too. But you're safe with us, and we will take care of you for as long as you need us. We're not going anywhere."

"Yeah." Steeljaw agreed.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Frenzy added.

"You yelled." She whimpered. "I was afraid the bad hoomans came back."

"I do that a lot." Frenzy admitted, a bit ruefully. "Yelling, I mean. Usually just means I'm being an aft, or failing to be funny."

"He's not really an aft," Steeljaw said, bumping Frenzy with his forehead. "He just pretends he is."

In English, Frenzy said, "Really, Steeljaw? I thought you knew me better than that." Then he switched back to Kiktani, and said, "You know, I think Teletraan has some cartoons you might like."

"... She doesn't speak English."

"She doesn't really need English for Tom and Jerry." Frenzy said, with a roll of his optics at Steeljaw, then pinged Teletraan with the request. The view screen in his quarters came to life with the antics of an animated mouse and cat.

Frenzy leaned against the wall, pulling Allowyn into his lap. She stuffed two fingers into her mouth, curled against his chest, and stared at the screen. Steeljaw laid down next to him, resting his head on Frenzy's knee. Frenzy alternated between stroking Allowyn's feathers and Steeljaw's head. After a moment, Allowyn mimicked him, fingers cautiously touching Steeljaw's helm.

Frenzy tensed. Steeljaw didn't like being _petted _by others. However, before he could stop her, Steeljaw told him, _:Let her touch me. I must look like a giant predator to her, and she'll lose her fear of me fastest this way.:_

After a minute, Allowyn leaned over. Her back was still pressed against Frenzy's abdominal plating, but she wrapped her arms around Steeljaw's neck. "You'll keep me safe?"

"Promise." Steeljaw said.

The child stroked his ears. "You're beautiful."

"Thank you." Steeljaw said, gravely.

"Scary. I like scary. Scare off bad hoomans."

"Sure I will. But I have lots and lots of good human friends."

"Don't like hoomans."

"You don't have to." Frenzy said, stroking her feathered crest. "Little secret? I don't like most humans either. Don't tell the Autobots, though. We have to be nice to the humans, even if we don't like them."

"Why?"

"Because it's a rule." Frenzy rubbed her back. "And we follow rules, even if we think they're stupid."

"And because not all humans are bad." Steeljaw added.

"Yeah, Daniel's okay. And Carly." Frenzy agreed. "I like Carly."

Judging by the emails zinging through his inbox, Ratchet had enlisted Carly's aid in preparing a care kit for the child.

"Don't like hoomans."

"Okay," Frenzy said, not arguing with her. When Steeljaw looked like he wanted to push the point, Frenzy shot him a dark look. Steeljaw subsided.

They all fell silent, watching the cartoon until Allowyn fell back asleep and Steeljaw slipped into recharge. Frenzy couldn't power down, however; his mind was too busy. Bad memories and anxiety about new responsibilities filled his thoughts, interspersed with moments of fierce, defiant protectiveness. The child asleep in his lap, and sprawled over his lover's neck and shoulder, was so very fragile.

He wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

He couldn't.

The responsibility terrified him.

But he didn't want trust anyone else to care for her. He'd rescued her. _He _would make sure she was safe.


	7. Chapter 7

The Best Laid Plans

Chapter 7

* * *

Optimus fought down an unPrimely desire to sigh. It was getting very late, and he had been meeting with his advisors since noon. The last subject of discussion before he could recharge was the Kiktani child.

"... so they refused to take her?" Skyfire said, disbelievingly.

"Ayup." Jazz seemed unsurprised. Well, Optimus supposed he wouldn't be. Little surprised Jazz. Jazz's background was one of deprivation, denial, and rejection. He'd seen the worst behavior people could throw at a child before he'd been old enough for more than basic mods. Jazz's lack of height was due to malnutrition; Jazz's cheery people-pleasing demeanor was a survival skill learned from harsh, early lessons. "Kid's on her own, ah guess."

There had been _one _Kiktani vessel within Earth's system. It was currently lurking, cloaked, in orbit around Titan. Their response had been curt and to the point: The child was not theirs, and they would not take custody of her.

Cosmos had discretely surveyed the vessel. Optimus didn't exactly blame them for the refusal; taking on the care of a child was a huge responsibility, and it was a small trading craft that already had two adults and two children aboard. Adding another person would have been a test of their resources, and they were most likely unrelated to the Kiktan vessel that had crashed on Earth,

"So what do we do now?" Skyfire asked, turning his wide blue optics towards Prime. "We can't hide her from the humans for long."

Optimus had already come to the same conclusion, hence his desire to sigh. He turned to his CMO. "Ratchet, what's her resistance to radiation like?"

"Not enough for any of our flight frames to get her safely to another inhabited world without heavy modification. Kiktani vessels are designed to protect their inhabitants from radiation. She's actually a little more sensitive than a human would be."

"I ... would be willing to undergo the necessary mods." Skyfire offered tentatively.

Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose. "To get her to the Kiktani homeworld would take about twenty years at your fastest speed. By the time she got there, she'd be an adult of her species, who had been raised by aliens. And Kiktani are very clannish, moreso than humans by far. She might not be accepted by them upon arrival."

"More to the point, we cannot spare any flight frames for a forty year round trip." Prowl said, voice firm and unyielding. "Nor can we spare any other mecha to go along on the trip. It would be unhealthy for a child to be live with only one other person for twenty years, only to be abandoned with strangers upon arrival."

"Honestly, the best options for her would probably be to either keep her here with us - were it not for the political fallout if she's discovered - or take her to Nebulos. Nebulos is about a year away and we could probably find a Nebulan family who would adopt her." Ratchet leaned back in his chair. "But even if we take her to Nebulos, and even with the best mods we can provide for the flier who takes her, she'd be exposed to a helluva lot of hard radiation on the trip. That's not good for a growing bitlet. Kiktani vessels have more shielding than we could cobble together for one of our flight frames, by far. We're just not designed to move that much mass, or power force shields that large."

"The other option is to conceal her here on Earth." Jazz drummed his fingers on the tabletop for a long moment. "Ah - Skyfire, ya think ya could make her a hardlight disguise?"

"I could." Skyfire said, slowly. "I'd want Hound's input, and Wheeljack's help with the miniaturization of the design, but it wouldn't be difficult."

After Skyfire had repaired Soundwave's telepathic mod, they had been sending more finicky design work his way. He was calm, patient, and detail oriented, and his knowledge base was both broad and deep, and that translated into a mech who was very good at intricate repairs and complicated engineering designs. Skyfire was possibly less than thrilled by some of his recent assignments - his first love was exploration and the closely related field of xenobiology - but he also clearly saw the need. He never complained, even when Optimus was reasonably sure that the scientist was bored half to death by working on a menial task way below his pay grade.

Prowl steepled his fingers together. "It will be risky to keep her on Earth. If she is discovered, there might be difficult political fallout."

"They would have to prove we swiped the kid, when their own eyes and cameras said it was Kiktani warriors who stole her back." Jazz shrugged one shoulder. "Meh. If we have to, we can deal w' t' politics later. They discover her, I'd be inclined to play stupid, 'n claim she's a different kid. Kiktan, what Kiktan? The humans got a lot of confidence in their military security; they never caught us sneakin' in t' their bases yet, an' they don't suspect how easy it is fer us."

"If they have a DNA sample, they could prove she is the same child." Red Alert pointed this out coolly.

"So she had a twin. Or a clone." Jazz leaned back in his chair. "Deal with it if the problem comes up. If all else fails, she's a cute little kiddo. Ah've got friends in t' human media networks who'd be happy t' spin a good story up for me t' make her appealin' to the masses, mebbe even make a movie 'bout it someday."

Optimus nodded gravely. "For now, she stays with us. We will have a goal of concealing her presence for as long as possible, ideally her entire life."

Ratchet snorted. "Anyone mention to you Kiktan live thousands of years? A better goal would be to conceal her presence for several decades, until the _humans _involved are all dead and our presence on this world is far more secure."

"Fair enough." Jazz chuckled. "Now, who's gonna foster t' kiddo? Do we ask the Witwickys?"

Ratchet's head jerked up from the datapad he'd been staring at. "Is there something wrong with Frenzy and Steeljaw caring for her?"

"Uh ..." Jazz blinked. "Didn't think Frenzy was all that keen on kids. Or squishies."

Ratchet snorted. To Optimus's practiced eye, the medic looked a bit defensive, but he said assertively, "Frenzy'll do just fine."

Dubiously, Prowl asked, "Wouldn't it be better if she had a guardian who _wanted _her rather than would do 'just fine'? I'm certain Frenzy is capable of child rearing, but she will face many challenges in her life. Merely adequate care may be insufficient for her needs."

Optimus was surprised by the vehemence in Ratchet's voice. "Anyone who tries to take that child away from Frenzy and Steeljaw will do so over my dead and greying frame."

"... Ratchet?" Optimus asked, uncertainly. Sometimes, what went on in the processor of his oldest friend was a mystery even to him. He wasn't sure why Ratchet was so dead set on Frenzy raising the kid. Steeljaw, he could somewhat understand, but Frenzy had never struck him as the type to be interested in child rearing, much less willing to adopt an organic alien. Even when given the opportunity to raise a sparkling of his own, with the full financial and logistical support of the Autobots, Frenzy had been reluctant.

"Have some faith in the runts. I have no concern whatsoever about them."

"Perhaps you are a bit too close ..." Prowl, never a master of tact, started to suggest.

"Or perhaps both Frenzy and I are bonded to Soundwave, and because of that secondary bond, I know him better than any of you." Ratchet crossed his arms. "He'll do just fine."

"Does he even want the responsibility?" Jazz asked. "I mean, long term. He didn't seem so sure earlier ..."

Ratchet's grin bared sharp denta; the expression was somewhat threatening. He didn't like his opinion being questioned, and Optimus, watching, mentally winced. "Yes. He wants the job. Watch his actions, not his words. And do not forget that he has _me _for backup."

Optimus, after waiting a moment to see if anything else had something to say, made his decision, "I believe we can give this a trial period. Ratchet, I expect you will supervise them closely. If it is not going well it would be better for the child if we transitioned her to the care of another guardian sooner rather than later."

Ratchet shot him a dark look. "They'll be fine, Optimus."

"I do trust your judgement, my friend." Optimus inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Fortunately, there was nothing else on the agenda. Optimus dismissed his advisors with some relief, and rose himself. His berth was calling him. He checked his fuel levels, and determined he had enough in his tank to last him until morning, without dipping into his reserves. He decided to forgo evening refueling and head straight for recharge.

Skyfire fell into step beside him as he headed directly for his quarters. The big shuttle said, "It is amazing how a day of meetings can be more exhausting than a week of battle."

Optimus favored his friend with a tired smile. "I am convinced that committee meetings are just another form of combat."

"True. And politics is a more civilized kind of war."

Optimus's snort of laugher was very un-Primelike. He was far too tired to be dignified.

"Would you like to refuel with me before you recharge?" Skyfire casually rested a hand on Optimus's shoulder. "I would prefer not to face the rec, myself, and I have some cubes in my quarters."

"I was going to refuel in the morning," he admitted, a bit sheepishly.

Skyfire's grip on his shoulder turned a bit firmer. "Prime, that's not healthy. Come. I have enough for both of us. Then you can recharge."

Since when had Skyfire become his appointed babysitter? Optimus shot the shuttle a suspicious look. For most of his Primacy, Jazz or Ratchet had taken it upon themselves to see that he refueled and recharged on time, but recently, Skyfire had transitioned into that role. He suspected collusion from his advisors, who were well aware that he was attracted to the shuttle and therefore less likely to argue with him.

Skyfire said, "Or I could show up on your doorstep with cubes of fuel. Your choice."

He grumbled something that wasn't even intelligible to himself, and headed in the direction of Skyfire's quarters. Skyfire was right that he should fuel - letting his main energon tank run low was both bad for his fuel filters, and left him vulnerable if there was an emergency - but he really wasn't in a mood for it. The business of peace was more time consuming than war, and he'd been locked in meetings for _weeks_, nearly continuously, with one group or another.

His protests were only half formed, though. He let Skyfire herd him down the corridors and through the shuttle's door, and there Optimus collapsed with weary familiarity into one of two large chairs in the big mech's quarters. Skyfire warmed two cubes up, sweetened them both with carbon, added a few other minerals that Optimus wouldn't have bothered with, and thrust a cube into his hand.

Skyfire settled into the chair next to Prime, without saying a word. He leaned back, sighed, and just sat there. Prime was grateful for Skyfire's sensitivity. He wasn't in a mood to chat.

"Thank you," he said, finally, after a long period of simply sitting and staring at the backs of his optic shutters.

"You're welcome. You look exhausted. And on that note - have you checked your schedule for tomorrow yet?"

"It's busy." He hadn't looked at it in a few days, and he was sure that Soundwave had filled in the few blocks of free time left. Somehow, Soundwave had ended up his secretary and aide de camp ... and was proving very, very, good at the job.

"You sure?"

Something in the shuttle's tone of voice made Optimus look sharply at him, then pull his calendar up on his HUD.

The entire day was ... cleared. He had _nothing _scheduled tomorrow. A quick check showed his appointments and meetings had been shuffled to later dates or redistributed amongst his inner circle, and his backlog of routine paperwork had been completed by Prowl and Soundwave. Judging by the time stamps, the two mecha had worked until very late yesterday night.

Skyfire, with a grin, said, "Your staff loves you."

Optimus blinked at him in confusion.

"You're working too hard, Prime." Skyfire rested a hand on Optimus's arm, a casual and platonic gesture. "So, you have an entire day off. What do you plan to do with it?"

This had all the earmarks of a Jazz-and-Prowl scheme, though Skyfire and Soundwave had undoubtedly been involved, and Ratchet would have been cheering them on. After due consideration of Skyfire's question, he asked, "Aren't you going for a pleasure flight tomorrow with several mecha?"

"I am, and I have room for one more." Skyfire's face lit up with a brilliant smile. That smile said 'I was hoping you'd ask' without Skyfire actually saying it. "We're leaving at noon. That gives you time to sleep in."

Optimus covered Skyfire's hand with his own briefly. "Thank you, my friend."

Quickly, he composed a thank-you note to the others on his staff. They deserved acknowledgement as well. Then, feeling slightly less exhausted simply because he knew he could recharge _well _past his normal 0500 wakeup call, he took a long sip from his cube. The warm energon filled his tank, and the additives were flavorful.

Skyfire drained his own cube quickly, and rose. He rinsed it out in his sink, put it neatly away in a cabinet, and then, when Optimus finished his, held his hand out for it.

Optimus stood up instead, fending off Skyfire's reaching hand with a sharp look. "I can wash my own cube."

Skyfire chuckled. "Optimus, before I met you, I never imagined you'd be so _normal_."

Optimus cast him a sideways look. "I used to drive my servants crazy on Cybertron. They often became upset when I picked up after myself."

"Long time ago."

"Yes."

Skyfire's hand rested on the small of his back as he stepped up to the sink. It was a warm touch, and not strictly platonic. Optimus froze, surprised and no longer tired _at all_. Energy thrummed through his circuits. Skyfire said, "That world was a very long time ago, for both of us. I was a researcher at the university, and you were a dock worker, a student, an archivist, and then a Prime. I never dreamed I would be friends with Optimus Prime ... with a standing invitation to become more."

"Are you accepting that invitation?" Optimus turned a little, surprised. He'd made his interest clear enough, once, human years ago, but Skyfire hadn't been ready and the timing had been lousy. A war had still been on. Now, though he had less free time than ever, at least he didn't need to worry about being shot down in battle ... or losing a lover in combat. Two years had passed since that frank conversation between them, and Skyfire had not brought it up again.

"If it's still open." Skyfire shifted awkwardly. "You know me better now. If you've lost interest ..."

"I am more attracted to you than ever." Optimus said, voice calm even though he was so nervous that his combat protocols were trying to engage by reflex. He ruthlessly squashed that impulse - Skyfire wasn't the sort of mech to be turned on by live weapons - but he didn't entirely succeed in keeping his field steady. It flared with his excitement and anxiety, and Skyfire reacted by removing his hand. "I know you better now. It is true that I have an aesthetic appreciation of flight frames, but I want more than mere physical attraction in a relationship."

"A lesson I had to learn the hard way." Skyfire said, ruefully.

Optimus smiled faintly. "There are advantages to the Matrix. Learning hard lessons from the mistakes of my predecessors is one. I have never had a lover, Skyfire - but I have seen what makes other relationships work. I want that for myself."

Skyfire stared at him, very likely due to the admission that he'd never had a lover.

Optimus's smile turned rueful, and his field stilled. "I am sure that you have noticed, by now, how careful I am with those I allow into my closest circle of friends. In my position, I must be careful about those I allow near me, for many and varied reasons. A lover ... requires even more care and caution."

"Yet you want me."

Oh, yes. He wanted Skyfire. Wise, caring, gentle, Skyfire, with his hidden core of steely strength and firm beliefs.

Optimus reached up, and cupped a hand to Skyfire's helmed face. "I want a conjunx endura. I don't know if we will reach that point or not ... but I desire you, Skyfire, and not simply because you have a beautiful frame."

Skyfire was silent for a very long moment, then stepped forward, and slid a hand behind Optimus's head, and bent down to press his forehead to Prime's. Optimus relaxed into the embrace, letting out a slow exvent of air. Skyfire's frame was warm and solid, and his sparkfield welcoming. He couldn't help but press closer, arms going around the shuttle's waist.

Once upon a time, Optimus had been a young, innocent mech with starry-eyed dreams of love and romance. For a moment, he was that youngling again as he looked up at Skyfire. He forgot he was Prime, he forgot he was eons old, he forgot he was supposed to be a wise elder, military leader, and political head of state. All he saw was the rugged features of the scientist who he had been quietly falling in love with for a few Earth years, and who was now leaning down again to kiss him.

It was a tender kiss, gentle and yet thorough. It made his spark heat and his knees weak. His fans spun up; his fingers tightened on the edges of Skyfire's armor.

The scientist smirked at him when they finally parted.

Optimus, sucking air through his mouth to help cool his suddenly overheated systems, smiled back. "Did you plan this, too?"

"I ... hoped ... but you seemed so tired. I honestly just wanted to get some fuel in you, so you could recharge late tomorrow and not need to get up early to refill your tanks." Skyfire pressed his helm to Optimus's forehead again. "Prime, I didn't know you'd never had a lover before. I can wait, if you want ..."

Optimus replied, "Would you make love to me tonight?"

"... tonight?"

"I want you." Optimus admitted, even as his field flared with nervousness again. Skyfire could say no, and he would be left feeling foolish. Worse, Skyfire might feel awkward around him. He didn't want to lose the close friendship that had developed between them.

"Okay." Skyfire nodded. "Optimus, I don't want to this to go bad ... You're one of the few friends I have in this world."

"I don't think that will happen." Optimus ran a hand up the underside of one of Skyfire's wings. His spark told him this was _right_. Despite his own fears, he wanted to reassure Skyfire. He wanted this - had wanted it, for some time, because something about Skyfire was _different_ than anyone else he'd met.

Skyfire leaned in to the touch.

Optimus's voice was a low rumble when he said, "I want you to make love to me tonight."

"Okay," Skyfire repeated. His optics brightened.

Optimus backed towards the berth, towing Skyfire with him. However, only when Optimus sat down on the berth and then lay on his back, swinging his feet up, without ever letting go of Skyfire's hand, did Skyfire seem to realize what Optimus had in mind.

"You want me to spike you?" Skyfire said, sitting down on the edge of the berth beside Optimus. His surprise was obvious.

Optimus said quietly, "I ... want you to take the lead. Please."

He led in everything else. He felt no need to be dominant here, in the berthroom. Indeed, he wanted to surrender into Skyfire's embrace. He had no desire to be Prime in private.

And ... Starscream talked. Starscream talked about _explicit _things, things that Skyfire would probably have preferred remain private. Optimus already knew that Skyfire preferred to top, as well as more salacious details of their past love life. Perhaps Starscream had been trying to shock him, but if that was the case, Starscream should have considered how very old the Matrix was, and how many mecha had carried it before Prime. Though he was personally inexperienced, there was little that surprised Optimus about the behavior of others.

Starscream was far more vanilla in his berth play than he realized, compared to certain past Primes. According to Starscream, Skyfire was an assertive lover, and Optimus _wanted _that.

Optimus smiled as Skyfire's weight pressed him into the metal mesh of the berth. Skyfire stroked his face with blunt fingers, leaned in for a kiss, and slid a hand down his side. "Optimus, I never dreamed I'd see you like this ..."

Skyfire's fingers found heated circuits under the flaring panels of Optimus's armor. Optimus groaned, pressing into the touch as best he could, even as he fumbled for a grip on Skyfire's wings. Somehow, Skyfire's interface panel had come open without him realizing it. The shuttle's spike was large and hot between them, and Optimus triggered his own panel to open.

Skyfire took his time, however, teasing and stroking, while speaking praise and compliments. It was far more intimate than Optimus had expected. When their optics met, he could not tear his gaze away even had he wanted to. When Skyfire stroked his frame, it was as if the very core of his self was being touched. He never wanted this moment to end, and yet he craved completion with need that bordered on pain.

When Skyfire slowly, with exquisite care, pushed into him, Optimus cried out. He had never been filled before, and the girth and the heat and the pressure was all too much. There was no pain, just a shocking intensity of sensory input. His chest plates unlatched even as he screamed into the shuddering white-out of an overload.

Above him, he was aware of a wash of heat and a brilliant flare of light like a second sun. Skyfire's spark was blue-white and blindingly bright. Their sparks came crashing together, and Optimus felt like he was falling. They had not discussed merging, but Skyfire took the parting of Optimus's chest plates as the invitation that it was, and seized upon it with eagerness.

Skyfire ... loved him. Though the words had been unspoken, he had suspected. Now he knew for sure. He saw himself through Skyfire's eyes, and Skyfire loved him for who he was ... not Prime, but _Optimus_, intelligent, and kind, and empathetic. Memories swirled around him, and he shared his own. Skyfire's joy at the realization that Optimus loved him back sent Optimus into a second overload.

Skyfire had merged, many times, with Starscream, in an attempt to teach the seeker the meaning of love. Starscream had never returned even a shadow of Skyfire's selfless love for him, and perhaps was incapable of the feeling. Something in the seeker was damaged beyond repair.

Optimus had loved Skyfire for years, quietly, with self-sacrificing patience. Skyfire had never realized the depth of Optimus's affection for him until now. Optimus saw Skyfire's shock in the bond, and reacted with comfort and encouragement. Perhaps Skyfire had been oblivious to the depth of Optimus's feelings, but he knew now.

Optimus saw that his love was returned with equal intensity, and the wariness and tension in his spark evaporated. Everything was going to be fine. Skyfire was what he'd wanted his entire life; they were, as he had hoped, sparkmates.

_:We could have this forever,: _he suggested. Or perhaps Skyfire did. It was hard to tell. Making it permanent, forging a quantum bond, was very tempting.

But sanity, both of theirs, prevailed. It was too soon, too risky, and the political fallout could be massive. Also, like it or not, he _was _Prime, even if both of them would prefer to ignore that in private. There was protocol and pomp that needed to be followed before he bonded to another mech, or he would disappoint his people. Primes were simply not allowed to elope.

Reluctantly, they parted. Spark chambers closed. Skyfire rolled off him, leaving him somehow chilled by the loss of contact. However, the shuttle immediately spooned around him, one hand resting on his hip, and warm air venting across his neck and the small of his back.

"I didn't mean to go so far," Skyfire said, after a minute. "But I don't regret it."

Optimus chuckled softly. "All I had planned for tonight was recharge. Yet now I find a whole new future opening before me, one with you in it."

"Stay the night with me?" Skyfire pressed a kiss to the back of his helm. "Please?"

"I intend to spend many nights with you, my lover." Optimus reached down and covered Skyfire's large hand with his own. "And I hope you will go this far many times in the future."


End file.
